.-^^^ 






="^. * 


















. r. 












•^^ 



.'^ 



»0> * 






•\ 









o-^' 










'^ 



■N^^^ 






- ,A^- 






.^ 















^^•^. 





,AV 








^' s^ 


■^ 




■>^ 


V "^ 


#' 


* 


o 


0^ 






.^^ 








S ' 


,, '^. 


* •/. 


^ • V. 




^// -^ 




.^' 




"^ 




^x-^' 






'C' 


<=>'^- « 






■x'^' 


%^- 




' .'\ 




O '' 




A^ 


'^ 


<■ » '?'-' 




.-^^ . 







^.. .-^^ 









.^' 



,•0' 



"\'^ 



o5 -n^ 



■/- * 8 I 



.<?-• 









V 



,x^-^ 






.-^^ 



,0 c. 



\^-^ '^. '' 



,0 o 



a\- 



*"& '^ i<3 '■'* ' -^ 



•^ro. 



cP- 









j\ 






%^ ^>^^^V^ ^ .^^ 



c^ 






■<^'% 



•J' ^-^ 
-.<^ \ 






<■ ^0 , V * <'\ 



.^ -^^ 



.'■N' ^ 






"Hi 












^^• 



■\\^ 



-** ,'\ 






■\'. 



OO' 



-\^" 



.•V 






.x^ -r. 



'>' * 






A' 



^'^<^ 









^..^ 



.^" ■%. ^/ 



.^^. 



aN 



j\^ 






A^^ ,^°^ '' "/^i 






C 0' 






^^■- 



cP\^- 



,\. .r. 






i^' 


0^ 




^H 







- %Ua^- 



'^;.^. 






""-^ ^^' 






<\. " ^ * .k * 




^^^ >^' 






■■f 





THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON III. 

From an engraving of the portrait by Cabanel. 



MEMOIRS of DR. THOMAS W. EVANS 



Th, 



SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 



EDITED BY 

EDWARD A. CRANE. M. D. 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD 
THE EMPRESS EUGENIE 
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 




NEW YORK 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

1905 



NOV 10 8yU& 

<*.>»!^ jf Oft m 
COPY a. 






COPTKIOHT, 1905, ET 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

Mights of translation reserved 



Published November, 1905 



/2 9 



This volume, entitled "Memoirs of Dr. Thomas W. Evans — 
The Second. French Empire — Napoleon III — The Empress 
Eugenie — The Prince Imperial," contains a portion of the 
"Memoirs and Unpublished Works" of the late Dr. Thomas 
W. Evans ; and its publication is approved and authorized 

y his Executors, as directed by the writer in his last will 

ad Testament. 



Charles F. Mullbr, 
Arthur E. Valois, 
Edward A. Crank, 
William W. Heberton, 

New York, 1905. 



Executors under the ivill of 
Tlioraas W. Evans, deceased. 



PREFACE 



On account of my friendly connection for more than thirty 
years with the late Dr. Thomas W. Evans and in compliance also 
with his frequently expressed desire that I should be the editor 
of his " Memoirs " and manuscript remains, these writings were 
placed in my hands soon after his death ; and I have, since, been 
requested by his executors to prepare for publication that portion 
of them which gives the sub-title, and forms the subject-matter 
of this volume. 

Dr. Evans's long and close attachment to Napoleon III. and 
his family, the confidential relations he maintained with other sov- 
ereigns and princely houses and his large and intimate acquain- 
tance among the men and women who, from 1848 to 1870, were 
the governing powers in Europe, afforded him unusual opportuni- 
ties of observing the evolution of political ideas and institutions 
in France, and the conditions and the causes that immediately 
preceded and determined the fall of the Second French Empire 
as seen from within; and supplied him also with facts and very 
valuable information concerning the same subjects as seen, or 
gathered in, from without. No man, moreover, was better ac- 
quainted than he with what may be termed the moral atmosphere 
of the several Courts to which, for so many years, he was pro- 
fessionally attached. In a word, he had acquired an unusual 
amount of that kind of knowledge which is derived from frequent 
and informal intercourse with persons filling the highest official 
and social positions in widely separated political communities, 
and which especially qualified him to form and pronounce correct 
judgments, with respect to the significance of the events that were 

vii 



viii PREFACE 

the most remarkable, and the character of the rulers and of the 
men who were the most prominent, during a very interesting 
period of French and European history. 

Although Dr. Evans could make very little pretension to liter- 
ary ability, he possessed the gift of saying what he had to say 
with such evident sincerity, that it is greatly to be regretted he 
has placed on record so little, when he might have told us so much, 
concerning the personal qualities, opinions, habits, and maimer 
of life of the great personages with whom it was his privilege to 
become acquainted. Indeed, I am quite sure that whoever reads 
this book — whatever defects he may find in it — will sometimes feel 
that he is a very near and sympathetic witness of events and in- 
cidents which the writer himself saw and has with such distinct- 
ness and soulfulness described. 

The writings entitled "Memoirs," by Dr. Evans were, as left 
by him, in two parts. The first contained a sketch of the politi- 
cal and military situation in France and Germany that inmie- 
diately preceded the Franco-German War, together with a very 
full account of the escape of the Empress Eugenie from Paris, 
and the establishment of the Imperial family at Chislehurst, in 
England. This formal narrative was prepared in 1884, but re- 
mained unpublished — principally from a sentiment of delicacy on 
the part of the writer. Twelve years later, in 1896 — the year 
before his death — Dr. Evans began to make a record of his remi- 
niscences in an autobiographical form, but composed in substance 
of occurrences and experiences personal to himself during his life 
as a court dentist, together with numerous character sketches 
of the distinguished people it had been his good fortune to meet 
and to know. This record was the second part of the "Memoirs." 
Unfortunately no attempt had been made, while preparing it, to 
give to it a literary form. The subjects were treated separately 
and with little regard to their proper order. Many of the pages 
contained merely notes or memoranda; and, as was inevitable 
under the circumstances, incidents were re-told, and there were 
numerous minor repetitions, especially with respect to matters 
that had already been set forth in the first part. The work of 



PREFACE ix 

coordinating and assimilating the materials had been left for a 
more convenient season — and, as it has proved, for another hand 
to do. 

In preparing the contents of the present volume I have selected 
from the two parts the portions in which, in my opinion, the 
public is most likely to be interested, and which at the same time 
are of the greatest value historically. They tell the story of the 
flight of the Empress from her capital, of which no complete and 
authentic account has ever before been published, and include 
practically everything in the "Memoirs," that relates to the 
Second French Empire. 

The greatest difficulty that I have encountered, in the course 
of my editorial work has arisen from the necessity of suppressing 
one or the other of the repetitions, or very similar statements 
in the parts referred to, and then, so fusing or, rather, stitch- 
ing the paragraphs and sections together as to give to the whole 
sufficient continuity and unity to be acceptable to myself without 
doing violence to the original text. The plan adopted, and which 
I believe to be the best in view of the facts above mentioned, has 
been to keep together, and in the body of this book, what relates 
direct!}^ to the Fall of the Empire, and to include in the opening 
and closing chapters most of the author's more strictly personal 
reminiscences and appreciations of the Emperor Napoleon III. and 
the Empress Eugenie. 

I certainly should feel, however, that I had altogether failed 
to accomplish what I have sought to do, were I not aware that 
it is the generally conceded privilege of the writer of memoirs and 
reminiscences to remember only what he chooses to remember, 
and to say it just when it pleases him to say it. And in according 
with me this Uberty to the author, I trust the reader may be 
equally generous toward the editor of this book, so far as he 
may be disposed to hold him responsible for an arrangement of 
its contents that may occasionally seem wanting in sequence, or 
for a style of writing that is perhaps, at times, a little too decousu. 

But there is one point of more importance than any question 
of form with respect to which I have no desire to disclaim my 



X PREFACE 

responsibility. For the accuracy of the narrative where it relates 
to matters of which I have a personal knowledge — and they are 
many — I hold myself equally responsible with the author. And 
I may also say that I have felt it to be a part of my editorial duty 
to verify his statements., where errors of fact seemed possible, 
whenever I could do so conveniently; to compare with the originals 
the passages he has cited from various writings and reports; to 
name his authorities, when they were not given by him; and to 
contribute a few appendices and foot notes, in one or two of which 
I have not hesitated to express my own opinion of persons with 
some freedom. 

Edward A, Crane. 
22 Rue St. Augustin, Paris. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 
THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 

PAGB 

How my acquaintance with Prince Louis Napoleon began — His 
life at the Elys6e — The day before the coup d'Etat — Dr. 
Conneau and Charles Th^lin— The Emperor's way of bestow- 
ing favors — A cross of the Legion of Honor — A diamond pin 
— My professional relations with the Emperor— Dentistry in 
France in 1847 — The wife of a dentist — My position at Court 
— "Have you nothing to ask?" — The courage of the Emperor 
— ^The bombs of Orsini — The Emperor's generous nature — 
A debt of honor — A Dreyfus case — Frangois Arago — ^The 
Emperor's philanthropy — "L'Empereur des Ouvriers" — ^The 
Emperor's amiability — Abd-el-Kader 1 

CHAPTER II 

CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 

The mother of Louis Napoleon — The personal appearance of the 
Emperor — His love of the country — "He was a wonderful 
landscape gardener" — He cared nothing for art for art's sake 
— His utilitarianism— His domestic habits — He was an able 
writer — He despised flattery — M. Duruy — The Emperor dis- 
liked circumlocution — He was tenacious of his opinions, but 
slow to form them — The sources of his information — ^The 
Burlingame Mission— The Emperor's extreme caution — An 
illustration — The Emperor's wit and humor — He was a peace- 
maker — His imperturbability no mask— He was a forcible 
speaker — His religion — His pride — His qualities the opposite 
of our faults 31 



xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER III 
THE MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 

PAOB 

Louis Napoleon is advised to marry— The Princess Caroline — 
The Duchess of Hamilton — Ancient and modern KJnights — 
The Duke of Hamilton — A great surprise — Eugenie de Mon- 
tijo ; her character, her person — The Emperor announces 
his engagement — How the announcement was received — 
The marriage ceremony — My first visit to the Empress at 
the Tuileries — A little incident — The Empress does not forget 
her old friends — Pepa — The character of Eugenie de Mon- 
tijo unchanged by her elevation to a throne — Criticism — The 
fortune of the Imperial family — The demands upon the privy 
purse — The generosity of the Empress — Her first act after 
her engagement — Her visits to the cholera hospitals — "Pious, 
but not bigoted " — Her public liberalities — ^The house parties 
at Compiegne — The Empress a lover of the things of the mind 
— The Suez Canal — The character of the Empress described 
by the Emperor— The Empress not exempt from the defects 
of her quahties 66 

CHAPTER IV 

THE IMPERIAL COURT— THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 

The Imperial Court — "Paris the heaven of Americans" — The 
banquet to Gen. John A. Dix — ^The American colony — How 
things have changed— Parisian society in those days — Causes 
of its decadence — Its "exoticism" — Srint lacrimce rerum — 
The War of the Rebellion — The Emperor not unfriendly to 
our Government — Mr. William M. Dayton — How I kept the 
Emperor informed with respect to the progress of the war — 
The Roebuck incident — The Emperor is urged to recognize 
the Southern Confederacy — How he came to suggest friendly 
mediation — He sends for me to come to Compiegne — The 
interview and what came of it — My visit to America — Inter- 
views with Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward — Visit to City Point 
— Conversations with General Grant — His opinion of "politi- 
cal generals" — The Emperor's first words on my return — 
Wh}' the Imperial Government did not recognize the Southern 
Confederacy- — The Mexican Expedition — The assassination 
of Mr. Lincoln — The United States Sanitary Commission — 
The Empress's letter to me ....... 105 



CONTENTS xiii 

CHAPTER V 
THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF FRANCE 



PAGE 



The importance of the works of Napoleon III. — He created modern 
Paris ; its parks and water-works ; its public buildings — Pro- 
vincial cities reconstructed — Roads and railways extended — 
Credit institutions founded — Commercial treaties made — 
The increase of capital ; of trade — The interest of the Em- 
peror in the lodgings of artizans and the sanitation of cities — 
What the Emperor did for agriculture — His interest in the 
welfare of the industrial classes — How he came to the relief 
of the people at the time of the great inundations — The 
Exposition of 1867 — A dreadful picture of moral corruption 
— ^The greatest work of Napoleon III 143 



CHAPTER VI 

THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR OF 1870-71 

A visit to St. Cloud — ^The candidature of Prince Leopold of Hohen- 
zollern — ^The Duke de Gramont — The Emperor not inclined 
to war — The opinion of the Empress — The Emperor's bad 
counselors — General Leboeuf — An incident — Public feeling — 
I propose to establish an ambulance — ^The service it subse- 
quently rendered — The declaration of war — Enthusiasm of 
the people — The excitement in Paris — The anxiety of the 
Emperor— He felt that France was not prepared for the war 
— His interest in the army — ^The condition sine qud non — 
Words not to be forgotten — ^The departure of the troops — 
The Empress is appointed Regent — ^The Emperor leaves St. 
Cloud for Metz — Misgivings 159 



CHAPTER VII 

THE FRENCH ARMY— SEDAN AND BISMARCK 

The efforts of the Emperor to increase the strength of the army 
— His proposals are denounced by the Opposition — Favre — 
Thiers — Magnin — Jules Simon — State of the army when war 
was declared — On arriving at Metz the Emperor finds nothing 
ready — Misled by incorrect reports — A fair example — ^The 



xiv CONTENTS 

PAGE 

situation becomes more and more difficult — A change of 
commanders — Sedan — A vivid account of the battle written 
by the Emperor — Further resistance impossible — The flag of 
truce — The letter of the Emperor to the King of Prussia — 
De Wimpfen meets Von Moltke and Bismarck at Donchery — 
Interview between the Emperor and Bismarck described by 
Bismarck in a letter to the King of Prussia — ^Two letters — 
"Conneau" 194 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 

Effects in Paris of the news of the first reverses — "Nous sommes 
trahis" — The resignation of the Ministry — General de Palikao 
— A new Ministry is formed — General Trochu is appointed 
Military Governor — An unsuccessful mission — The announce- 
ment of the disaster of Sedan — A Cabinet Council is con- 
voked — General Trochu is requested to come to the Palace — 
The night of September 3d at the Tuileries — The morning of 
September 4th — The council of Ministers — A deputation is 
sent to the Empress — Her Majesty is advised to resign — Her 
reply — The proposition of M. Thiers — The Palais-Bourbon 
is invaded by the mob— The conduct of General Trochu — 
The Emperor pronounces it "flagrant treason"— The simple 
facts — A pandemonium — The last session of the Senate — "I 
yield to force" 231 



CHAPTER IX • 

DEPARTURE OF THE EMPRESS FROM THE TUILERIES 

The invasion of the Tuileries — General Mellinet parleys with the 
invaders — How the palace was protected — The interior of the 
Tuileries — The Empress waits in the palace to hear from the 
Assembly — She is advised to leave — She hesitates — Prince 
de Metternich and Siguor Nigra— M. Pi^tri— The Empress 
bids adieu to her friends — She leaves the Tuileries — She is 
forced to return — Quite by chance — "The Wreck of the 
Medusa" — "Are you afraid?" — "Not a bit" — A curious 
coincidence — "II faut de Vaudace" — "Voild rimperatrice" — 
No one at home — ^The Empress comes to my house . .261 



CONTENTS XV 

CHAPTER X 
THE REVOLUTION— THE EMPRESS AT MY HOUSE 

PAGE 

The calm before the storm — Paris in revolution — ^The Champs 
Elysees — ^The Place de la Concorde — The street scenes— Some 
reflections — How certain things came to pass without a hitch 
— The funeral of Victor Noir — A paradox — Concerning the 
"Republic" — A race, and the winners— A strange letter — 
A mystery explained — I return to my house— Two ladies wish 
to see me — My interview with the Empress — An awkward 
situation — Planning to escape from Paris — Questions to be 
considered — ^The plan finally agreed upon — Our passports — 
The safety of the Empress left to chance — The Empress no 
pessimist — Paris at midnight — I make a reconnaissance 279 

CHAPTER XI 

THE FLIGHT OP THE EMPRESS FROM PARIS 

The departure from my house — How we passed through the Porte 
Maillot — A little history — ^The Empress talks freely — The 
French people — Saint-Germain-en-Laye — On the road to 
Poissy — We stop at the wine-shop of Madame Fontaine — A 
la bonne franquette — We stop again near Mantes — jortunatos 
agricolas — I procure another carriage and fresh horses — ^The 
formation of the new Government is reported to her Majesty 
— Her astonishment on hearing that General Trochu was the 
President of this Government — Her comments — Could she 
no longer rely on any one? — The consequences of the Revo- 
lution in Paris not fully apprehended at the time — ^The Em- 
press discusses the situation — Her courage — Her patriotism 311 

CHAPTER XII 

ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 

Pacy-sur-Eure — A change of conveyances — The "outfit" — A pro- 
fessional opinion — Evreux — "Vive la Republique" — A tragic 
story — La Commanderie — Horses but no carriage — An acci- 
dent — La Riviere de Thibouville — A serious question — "Le 
Soleil d'Or" — Diplomacy — "Too funny for anything!" — 
French peasants — A night alarm — Madame Desrats and her 
"cabriolet" — "My carriage is at your disposal" — A railway 
trip — A miserable morning — I go for a carriage — A polite clerk 
— A striking contrast — The last stage of our journey — Pont 
I'Eveque — Another coincidence 335 



xvi CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XIII 

DEAUVILLE— THE EMBARKATION 

Deauville — Precautions — Looking for a boat in which to cross 
the Channel — Interview with Sir John Burgoyne — Lady Bur- 
goyne — Dinner at the Hotel du Caaino — A small gold locket 
— I meet Sir John Burgoyne on the quay — Her Majesty 
leaves the Hotel du Casino — A wild night — The strangeness 
of the situation — Contrasts — On board the Gazelle — Dr. 
Crane returns to Paris 

CHAPTER XIV 

THE MEETING BETWEEN MOTHER AND SON 

We leave the harbor — Rough weather — In a gale — We reach 
Ryde Roads — ^The landing — At the York Hotel — News of the 
Prince Imperial — The Empress and the Bible — We go to 
Brighton — ^The Empress hears that the Prince Imperial is at 
Hastings — She insists On going there — A vain device — We 
arrive at Hastings — I go to the Marine Hotel and find the 
Prince — My plan for a meeting between mother and son — The 
Empress cannot wait — The way barred — The Prince in the 
presence of his mother — Tears of joy and of sorrow — ^The 
Empress and the Prince Imperial remain in Hastings — 
House-hunting — Mrs. Evans comes to England — Miss Shaw 
—Camden Place — Negotiations — Camden Place is rented — 
"A spirited horse, perfectly safe" — Her Majesty leaves Hast- 
ings — She takes possession of her new home — ^The first night 
at Chislehurst — The first act of the Empress next day — A 
tragic story — Conversations with the Empress 

CHAPTER XV 

I VISIT THE EMPEROR— DIPLOMACY 

I leave England — Queen Augusta — The prison and the prisoner 
— "The courtesy of the age" — My visit to the Emperor at 
Wilhelmshohe — I visit the prison camps and hospitals — My 
return to England — France now isolated — The promise of the 
Czar — ^The Empress endeavors to limit the consequences of 
the French military disasters — She writes to the Emperor 
Alexander — She intercedes on behalf of the Republican Min- 
ister for Foreign Affairs — Count Bismarck is embarrassed — 
Diplomatic notes 



CONTENTS xvii 

CHAPTER XVI 
INTRIGUES AND MORE DIPLOMACY 

PAGE 

The mysterious M. Regnier — His interviews with Bismarck — ^The 
situation at Metz — M. Regnier is received by Marshal Bazaine 
— General Bourbaki leaves for Chislehurst — The Empress is 
astonished — She tries once more to obtain peace on favorable 
terms — She writes to her friend Francis Joseph — ^The memo- 
randum of the Emperor — General Boyer is sent to the German 
head-quarters^ — His interviews with Count Bismarck — The 
French army makes no "pronunciamentos" — A council of 
war at Metz — "The only means of salvation" — General Boyer 
goes to Chislehurst — ^The Council at Camden Place — The 
Empress declares that she will never sign a treaty of peace in 
ignorance of its terms— Her letter to General Boyer — A lesson 
never forgotten — The Alliance with Italy— The political ideas 
and sympathies of the Empress — An interesting incident — Her 
letters to the Emperor, written in October, 1869 — A letter 
written in October, 1896 — Justice will be done . . .431 

CHAPTER XVII 

THE END OF THE WAR— THE COMMUNE 

I return to France — The suffering among the French prisoners — 
The Clothing Society — I engage in relief work — Hostes dum 
vulnerati fratres — ^The fellow-feeling produced by suffering 
shared in common — The end of the war — A National Assembly 
— The humiliating peace — The Emperor arrives in England 
— ^The Sedan of the Government of the National Defense — 
Mrs. Evans and I visit the Emperor and Empress at Camden 
Place — The admh-able resignation of the Emperor — His inter- 
est in the education of the Prince Imperial — Mrs. Evans and 
I return to Paris — The aspect of the city 458 

CHAPTER XVIII 

DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 

The visitors to Camden Place — November 15, 1871— The Em- 
peror's health — His last photograph — Surgical advice is 
sought — A consultation is held — A statement contradicted — 
The operation — The death of the Emperor — ^The impression it 
produced in Paris and in London — Messages of condolence — 
The irmnediate cause of the Emperor's death — His funeral — 
"Vive Napoleon IV.". 485 



xviii CONTENTS 

APPENDICES 

PAGE 

I. A Letter from the Princess Josephine to Napoleon III. 509 

II. The Family op the Empress 510 

III. The Emperor's Fortune 513 

IV. Speech of Lord Brougham 514 

V. The Falsified Despatch . . . . . . . 517 

VI. Concerning the Reorganization of the Army . . 520 

VII. The Loyalty of General Trochu .... 522 
VIII. Extracts from Official Reports of the French 

Government 523 

IX. The Emperor's Responsibility 526 



LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS 



FACING 
PAGE 

The Emperor Napoleon III Frontispiece ^^ 

From an engraving of the portrait by Cabanel. 

Dr. Thomas W. Evans 1 

From a photograph by Ch. Reutliuger taken about 1875. 

Mademoiselle Eugenie — Comtesse de T]fiBA 74 ^ 

From a photograph taken in 1852. 

The Empress Eugenie 106 

From a photograph taken about 1865. 

General Reille Presenting to King William the Letter of 

Napoleon III 318 ' 

From a photograph of the painting by A. von Werner. 

Napoleon III 238 

From his last photograph taken by W. and D. Downey in 1872. 

The Empress Eugenie 246 

From a photograph taken by W. and D. Downey in 1871. 

The Empress and Madame Lebreton at Dr. Evans's House . 294 

Pacy-sue-Eure — 4 Change of Conveyances .... 332 

Cambolle — Vive la R^publique .^ . 338 

Le Soleil d'Or — La Rivi:&re de Thibouville .... 343 ' 

xix 



XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 
PAGE 

The Porte Cocuere at Lisieux 354 

Deauville — TuE Empress and Dr. Evans Leaving the Hotel 

Du Casino 372 -J 

Camden Place 398 "^ 

The Ruins of the Tuileries 480 

The Prince Imperial 503 " 

From a photograph taken by Elliott and Fry in 1878. 




DR. THOMAS W. EVANS. 
From a photograph by Ch. Reuthnger taken about 1875. 



THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 



CHAPTER I 

THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 

How my acquaintance with Prince Louis Napoleon began — His life at 
the Elys6e — The day before the coup d'Etat — Dr. Conneau and 
Charles Thelin — The Emperor's way of bestowing favors — A cross 
of the Legion of Honor — A diamond pin — My professional rela- 
tions with the Emperor — Dentistry in France in 1847 — The wife of 
a dentist — My position at Court — "Have you nothing to ask?" — 
The courage of the Emperor — The bombs of Orsini — The Em- 
peror's generous nature — A debt of honor— A Dreyfus case — 
Frangois Arago — The Emperor's philanthropy — " L'Empereur des 
Ouvriers " — The Emperor's amiability — Abd-el-Kader. 

[N November, 1847, I came to Paris with my wife, 
having accepted an invitation from Cyrus S. 
Brewster, an American dentist of repute then 
living in Paris, to associate myself with him 
professionally. 

In France everything was then quiet. M. Guizot, the 
Prime Minister, ruled the country with an authority that 
was absolute. The politicians, of course, were, some of 
them, clamoring for " Reform," and all of them playing 
the eternal game of seesaw on every question of public 
concern that might serve their personal or party interests. 
But the people were apparently uninterested or asleep. 
It seems that they were just on the point of waking up. 
Three months later, in February, 1848, the Tuileries were 
invaded by the Paris mob, and Louis Philippe, having cut 

1 




2 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

off his whiskers, under the cover of an old hat and a shabby 
coat, made his escape from the palace. The Republic was 
now proclaimed and the march of events was rapid — the 
opening of National workshops, the election to the Con- 
stituent Assembly in April; and then the barricades and 
the bloody days of June, with the shootings and transpor- 
tations of the apostles of Communism — in rehearsal for the 
final scene in the great drama of 1871. 

On the 23d of September, 1848, Prince Louis Napoleon, 
having been elected a member of the National Assembly, 
left London, and the following day arrived in Paris. Less 
than three months afterward he was elected President of 
the French Republic, and established his residence at the 
Palace of the Elysee in the Faubourg St. Honore, where 
he remained until the 24th of February, 1852, when he re- 
moved to the Tuileries, and occupied the apartments from 
which Louis Philippe had fled, exactly four years before — 
on the 24th of February, 1848. 

My acquaintance with the Prince began very soon after 
he came to Paris. He had not been long at the Elysee 
when he sent a message to Dr. Brewster, stating that he 
would like to have him come to the palace, if convenient, 
as he had need of his services. It so happened, when 
the message came, that Dr. Brewster was ill and unable 
to respond to this call himself. It fell to me, therefore, 
by good fortune, to take his place professionally, and to 
visit the Prince. And there it was, at the Elysee, that I 
first saw him. 

He received me very kindly, without the least intimation 
that he had expected to see someone else, so that I soon 
felt entirely at my ease. I found that a slight operation was 
necessary, which, when made, gave him great relief. On 
my leaving, the Prince thanked me most cordially, com- 
mended me for the ' ' gentleness ' ' of my manner of opera- 
ting, and expressed a wish to see me the next day. I 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 3 

then saw him again, professionally; and, from that time, 
up to the day of his death, I visited him often — sometimes 
as often as twice a week ; for the relations between us were 
not entirely of a professional nature, having very soon be- 
come friendly, and confidential even. 

During his residence at the Elysee, I was, on several 
occasions, invited to come in the evening and take tea with 
him, and some of his intimate associates, at a house in the 
Rue du Cirque, where he was a frequent visitor. This house, 

in which Madame H lived, was to him easy of access 

— a gate in the wall, enclosing the garden of the palace, 
opening on the street close to the house. There, free from 
the restraint of official surroundings, the Prince-President 
loved to take a cup of tea, or to sit during the w^hole 
evening sipping a cup of coffee, or smoking a cigarette, his 
black dog, a great favorite with him, sometimes at his feet 
and sometimes on his knee. 

An excellent listener to the conversation of others — it 
was with the greatest interest that we all listened to him, 
when he chose to speak. However light the subject, his 
remarks were never commonplace, but were often weighty 
and always bore the impress of originality. There were 
times when he exhibited rare powers of description and 
a delicate but lively appreciation of the humorous side of 
things; and other times — the subject moving him — when 
his earnest and kindly words and the sympathetic tones 
of his voice were irresistibly seductive, and we — hardly 
knowing why, whether we were captivated by the person- 
ality of the speaker or surprised at the height to which 
he carried his argument — in wondering admiration sat in 
silence under the spell of the Charmer. He talked with the 
utmost freedom of his past life in Germany, in Switzer- 
land, in Italy, in England; of Napoleon and of govern- 
ment in general ; but spoke rarely and with more reserve 
about the French politics of the day. And he liked to 
hear others talk of their own lives, of the subjects that 



4 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

personally interested them, of their occupations and amuse- 
ments during the day, and to have the conversation go on 
as if in a family circle, Mdthout the restraints of etiquette. 
He also liked, on these occasions, to listen to simple music — 
at the same time admitting that music in general he did not 
like. He seemed to seek the satisfactions of a home, and the 
pleasure of being surrounded by a few but intimate friends. 
Madame Henriette, as she was called familiarly, had living 
Avith her no family or relative except a sister — a most 
beautiful creature, artless but full of grace, whose head 
was one of the finest I ever saw on a woman's shoulders. 
As Madame de Sevigne said of Mademoiselle de Grignan, 
she was une creature choisie et distinguee. Here I met 
MM. Fleury, Persigny, Mocquard, Edgar Ney, and some 
others. But only a very few of the persons in the entour- 
age of the Prince were ever invited into this little society. 

The relations of the Prince to the beautiful and devoted 

Madame H have been a subject of censure and even of 

scandal. The irregularity of the situation he himself rec- 
ognized; but he was too kind-hearted to break away from 
it without some strong and special motive. And then, to 
use his own words : 

" Since, up to the present time, my position has pre- 
vented me from getting married; since in the midst of all 
the cares of the Government I have, unfortunately, in my 
country from which I have been so long absent, neither inti- 
mate friends nor the attachments of childhood, nor rela- 
tives to give me the comforts of a home, I think I can be 
pardoned an affection that harms no one, and which I have 
never sought to make public." * 

I was, at first, asked by the Prince to go to this house 

for the purpose of seeing Madame H professionally, he 

remarking to me that he would consider it a favor if I 
would do so, since were she to go to my office, her pres- 

* M. Odilon Barrot "Memoirs," tome iii., p. 361. 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 5 

dice there might give rise to comment. Thus it happened 
that subsequently I became one of Madame H 's occa- 
sional evening visitors as well as her professional adviser. 

The Prince was very fond of walking in the morning 
in the grounds of the Elysee palace, sometimes alone, but 
more frequently with Fleury or Persigny or some other 
member of his official household. Several times, when he 
had something special to say to me, or inquiries to make, 
he invited me to take a turn with him in the garden, usu- 
ally speaking in English, for he liked to talk in English 
whenever he could; and it often served him well when he 
wished to converse and did not care to have some one, who 
might be near him, understand what was said. It was 
during this quiet life at the Elysee that our relations 
became intimate and that a lasting friendship was formed. 

At this time — while President of the Republic — the 
Prince had few intimate friends, and but very few acquaint- 
ances. A stranger to the French people when he came to 
Paris, he did not seek at once to make new acquaintances; 
moreover his power as President being limited, and gen- 
erally supposed to be temporary, did not attract to the 
Elysee a crowd of interested friends — supplicants for fa- 
vors. If he was sometimes oppressed with a sense of politi- 
cal isolation and loneliness, and more than once was heard 
to say sadly, " I do not know my friends, and my friends 
do not know me," it was not without its compensations, 
among which the greatest was the liberty it gave him to 
form his own friendships, or, perhaps rather, the opportu- 
nity it afforded him to watch dispassionately the drift of 
public opinion in France, and discover the means of reali- 
zing les idees Napoleoniennes — the supreme object of his 
ambition. For it was in the seclusion of his Cabinet de 
travail — his study — that he always seemed to take his 
greatest pleasure. 

These were happy days for the Prince. He had at- 
tained, at least in part, to what he had always believed 



6 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

would come — that he would be called upon to rule in one 
way or another, as his uncle did, the French people. To 
him I am positive this was a certainty, the realization of 
which he considered to be only a question of time. It 
never seemed in any way to surprise him that events 
had so shaped his career as to bring him where he was at 
the moment; and it was his calm belief, at this time, that 
his increasing popularity and power were only a part of 
that of which he was also sure to see the accomplishment. 
If he referred to the significant or exciting political events 
of the day, it was with quiet ease, never himself excited, 
never complaining, avoiding exaggeration, and never show- 
ing the slightest anxiety or personal concern. 

This countenance of extreme placidity which the Prince 
always wore, seems to me now, if it did not at the time, 
all the more remarkable when I remember the unsettled 
and very stormy political situation in France during the 
years of his Presidency — the extraordinary violence of 
the Socialists and Red Republicans — the revolutionary 
manifestations in the streets of Paris, Marseilles, and 
Lyons; and, finally, the reaction and the plots against 
his Government laid by the powerful Royalist combination 
in the Legislative Assembly. 

On the morning preceding the night of the coup d'Etat, 
I was sent for to see the Prince at the Elysee. I noticed 
that his manner and conversation were more than ordinar- 
ily affectionate. There were moments when he appeared 
to be thoughtful, as if there was something on his mind 
that he wished to speak about, and yet did not. When 
I was leaving, he went with me to the door of his study, 
where I had been conversing with him, and then, placing 
his arm within my own, walked with me through the ad- 
joining room. He knew that great events were about to 
happen, but this knowledge did not ruffle his serenity or 
change in the least the suavity of his voice or the complai- 
sance of his address. That evening there was a reception 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 7 

at the palace, and a crowd of people, his cousin, the Duch- 
ess of Hamilton, being present among the rest. No one 
had the slightest suspicion of the blow that was soon to 
fall; but just as the duchess, with whom the Prince was 
talking, was about to leave, he said to her in the very 
quietest way, as he gave her his hand, with a kindly smile, 
" Mary, think of me to-night." Something in the tone 
of his voice, rather than the words, impressed her strongly. 
What could he mean? The next morning, when the duch- 
ess awoke, she learned what was in the mind of the Prince 
when he bade her good night, and was amazed at his ex- 
traordinary self-control, his seeming impassiveness, and the 
gentleness of his manner at such a critical, decisive moment 
in his career. 

And this manner never changed. Whether Prince- 
President, or Emperor, in victory or defeat, he was always 
the same; and he was also the same in all his relations 
and intercourse with men, both in official and private life. 
In return, every one who knew him personally, was drawn 
towards him by a strong sentiment of sympathy and affec- 
tion. The devotion of his followers after the affairs of 
Strasbourg and Boulogne bears witness to this. In those 
early days, all who knew him intimately wished to follow 
him. 

The two persons who stood nearest to him and who 
were attached to him the longest, were Dr. Conneau and 
Charles Thelin. Conneau was a protege of his mother, 
Queen Hortense, who, on her death-bed, made him promise 
never to forsake her son — a promise he observed with the 
most pious fidelity. Thelin was in the domestic service of 
the Queen; he was at first Prince Louis' valet, afterward 
a head servant, and, finally, the treasurer of the Imperial 
privy purse. Not only were these two men devoted to the 
interests of the Prince, but they continued to be faithful 
and unselfish in ways that are rare. When the Prince be- 
came Emperor — and their positions were necessarily 



8 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

changed, having everything at their command if they had 
wished it — ^they showed no ambition to be anything more 
than the true friends of their early companion and master. 

Dr. Conneau desired nothing better than to be, as he 
had been of old, the confidant of his inmost thoughts. He 
opened and read his letters. He also read the despatches, 
as well as articles from the newspapers, which were sent to 
his Majesty from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; for at 
that Ministry there were secretaries whose business it was 
to read the dift'erent English, Spanish, and Italian news- 
papers — in fact, to examine all the principal papers from 
foreign countries, and prepare a resume of their contents 
for the Emperor's use. Dr. Conneau was often the one to 
see these summaries first and read them to his Majesty, us- 
ing his own discretion and passing over unimportant mat- 
ters. He was also entrusted with the distribution of the 
Emperor's private charities; and for this purpose from 
fifty to one hundred thousand francs were placed in his 
hands every month. Dr. Conneau held the official position 
of principal physician attached to the Emperor's person; 
but the Emperor regarded him as his fidus Achates. 

" Charles," as he was always called, enjoyed the Em- 
peror's confidence in an equal degree. Dr. Conneau and 
Charles Thelin had been with the Emperor almost con- 
stantly for so many years, in the same countries, that they 
had learned to speak the same languages that he did, and 
had acquired many of his habits. I was often struck with 
the similarity even in the voices of these persons, especially 
in the softness of their tones, and with the quiet simplicity 
of each in speaking, at all times. Indeed, they grew to be 
very much alike in many things. The Emperor never had 
any thought of his own private interests or of increasing 
his personal fortune ; and the same indifference was shown 
by Dr. Conneau and Charles Thelin ; for, with all kinds of 
opportunities to grow rich, by taking advantage of their 
knowledge of impending war or peace, the laying out of 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 9 

new streets — in a word, of a thousand things that would 
make the Stock Exchange, or values, go up or down — at the 
end of the Empire they were left penniless, having lived on 
their modest salaries from the very first day they entered 
into the service of Prince Louis, devoted to their special 
duties, and without a thought of accumulating wealth. 

Not long after the Emperor's death Dr. Conneau came 
to see me. He told me the only thing he possessed in the 
world was a collection of Bibles — in several hundred lan- 
guages or dialects, including some rare copies — which then 
lay in a heap on the floor of a stable, as he no longer had a 
place of his own in which to keep them. He said it grieved 
him greatly to part with this collection, the making of 
which had given him so much pleasure; but that it dis- 
tressed him still more to see it treated as it had been and 
in danger of being destroyed ; and that I would render him 
a great service if I would take it off his hands and save it. 
This I at once agreed to do. And when the tears came into 
the eyes of the kindly old man I felt in my own heart that 
it was a blessed thing indeed to be able to help a friend in 
time of need. 

The Emperor had an exquisite way of bestowing 
favors. When he made a present, he often gave it the ap- 
pearance of paying a debt. 

On one occasion which I remember, he engaged a young 
man to make some researches for a literary work he was 
interested in. The young man was to have a certain 
sum paid to him, monthly, in advance. The next day 
the Emperor handed him double the sum that had been 
fixed upon. Thinking a mistake had been made, he said, 
" Sire, you have given me too much." " Oh, no," replied 
the Emperor; " you forget that you began your services 
yesterday — a month ago.'" This was his way of disguising 
a gift. 

After living in Paris a number of years, wishing to 



10 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

go to the United States, I informed his Majesty that it 
was my intention to return home soon to see my family 
and country. I had a strong attachment to the relatives 
and friends I had left in America, and, more especially, 
I wished to see my mother, as she was advancing in years, 
and I told him that I felt it a duty to go to her. He 
said he perfectly understood my wish to return home and 
my strong desire to see my mother, and that he was glad 
I felt as I did. He then asked me when I proposed go- 
ing. On my telling him the date of sailing I had fixed upon, 
he said, ' ' Come and see me again before you go ' ' — naming 
a day. As he was at the Palace of Saint Cloud, I was to 
go there. Upon my arrival at the time appointed, he re- 
ceived me in the room which he occupied as a study, on 
the floor below the apartments of the Empress. After some 
conversation, he led me up the private staircase and opened 
the door into the first room, which was a boudoir, or ante- 
chamber, giving access to her Majesty's apartments. Im- 
mediately upon my entering this room with him, for the 
purpose of saying, as he said, good-by to the Empress, he 
took from the table a case containing the cross of a Knight 
of the Legion of Honor, and, as I stood before him, he 
fixed the cross to the lapel of my coat, saying, " We want 
you to go home a Knight. ' ' He then opened the door lead- 
ing into the room where the Empress was, and said, as she 
came forward: "The Empress wishes to be the first to con- 
gratulate the Chevalier "; and he added: " I hope your 
friends in America will understand how much you are ap- 
preciated by us. You will promise us to come back again, 
won't you? " This was said in that tone of voice and with 
an expression in his eyes, full of kindness and goodness, 
which it is quite impossible to describe. His manner under 
such circumstances was really irresistible; I had many oc- 
casions to feel its charm. 

I have sometimes thought that the Emperor owed his 
singular power of winning the esteem and affection of 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 11 

those with whom he had spoken, although but once, to the 
softness of his voice and to a peculiar hesitancy of man- 
ner — especially when opening a conversation — which might 
be taken for diffidence, the most delicate form of flattery 
that one man can offer to another. 

When misfortunes befell his friends, or bereavements 
came to those who were near to him, the Emperor never 
failed to console them with kind words or to remember 
them by acts of gracious consideration. 

On the occasion of the loss of the steamer Arctic, in 
the autumn of 1854 — when my wife and I were informed 
that a dear sister and her husband and child, who were 
returning to New York from a visit they had paid us, had 
all three perished — the Emperor, and the Empress also, 
expressed for us their deepest sympathy. 

One morning the Emperor said to me, after referring 
to this painful event, that he wished to give me, as a token 
of his regard, a keepsake that I might perhaps doubly 
esteem. He then handed to me a case within which he 
said there was a diamond that had been taken from the 
hilt of a sword which had belonged to his uncle, Napoleon, 
and had been worn by him, and which he had caused to 
be reset in a scarf-pin. 

This pin I rarely wore, for the diamond was not only a 
remarkably fine one, but I prized it highly as a souvenir and 
and was afraid of losing it. When, in April, 1855, the 
Emperor and Empress went to England to visit the Queen, 
Mrs. Evans and I also went to London, where we occupied 
rooms at Fenton's Hotel, St. James's Street. The day 
after our arrival, having occasion to be present at a royal 
function, I decided to wear the beautiful pin I had brought 
with me. And this I did. But, either before I left the 
hotel or after my return, I met an American gentleman 
who was stopping in the house, with whom I probably 
had some conversation concerning the diamond pin, al- 
though at the time the conversation seemed so insignifi- 



12 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

cant that I could never recall it. I have always believed, 
however, that he related the history of the jewel — perhaps 
in the coffee-room. On going to my room to change my 
dress, I placed the pin in its Scran, or ease, and, rolling this 
up very carefully, together with some French paper money, 
in several pocket-handkerchiefs, stowed the package at the 
bottom of my satchel. A few days later I returned to the 
Continent by the way of Belgium and Holland. On ar- 
riving at The Hague I took the package from the satchel, 
opened the case, and found within it — nothing. The money 
had not been taken, neither had some jewels that my wife 
had put in the satchel, but the diamond pin had vanished. 
The mystery of its disappearance has never been solved. 
That it was stolen I have no doubt. I am also convinced 
that its historical character was not foreign to the theft. 

Being extremely anxious to recover the pin, I reported 
my loss to the police, and caused an active search to be 
made for it, and for the thief; but the search was of no 
avail. Nothing was ever heard of the pin, or how it disap- 
peared. I felt so badly about it that I never spoke to the 
Emperor of my loss. Years passed, and the loss of the dia- 
mond pin had ceased to trouble me. 

One morning in the montb. of May, 1859, a day or two 
before the Emperor was to leave Paris for the seat of war 
in Northern Italy, he sent for me to come and see him. 
On being introduced into his presence, I found him sitting 
before his toilet-table. Without changing his position, he 
began to speak at once of the campaign he was about to 
engage in, and of other matters, when, suddenly turning 
partly round and looking me directly in the face, he said : 
* ' And so you lost the diamond pin I gave you 1 ' ' 

' ' Yes, Sire, ' ' I replied ; and, greatly confused, I was 
about to make some wretched apology for never having 
spoken of it to him, when he said : 

" I knew it had been stolen from you, but it has been 
found " — taking at the same time from a draw^er, in the 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 13 

table before him, a ease similar to the one he had given 
me years before, with the same Imperial crown in silver 
on the blue velvet. 

' ' Here, ' ' he said, ' ' is the lost pin ; ' ' and, as I opened 
the case to look at the jewel, he added quietly : " At least, 
it may in a measure replace the other. I am going away. 
Keep this as a souvenir of me." 

Surely no man ever had a more delicate and delightful 
way of bestowing favors and recognizing the services of 
his friends. 

It was one of my rules to ask of his Majesty no personal 
favors. I never asked him even for a photograph or an 
autograph. These things and many others were given to 
me unasked and of his own free-will, he alone judging 
when, and under what circumstances, or for what services 
a recompense should be given. 

Once at a large luncheon at the Palace of the Tuileries, 
when there were many guests present, although the occa- 
sion was unofficial, the Emperor — who, I presume, during 
the morning had suffered from the customary importunity 
of some of them — feeling in the humor, remarked in a clear 
voice to a lady sitting at the end of the table : " I have 
been much occupied this morning with demands for every- 
thing. By the by, Countess, I believe you are the only 
one of the Court that has not asked me for something. 
Have you nothing to ask? " 

" No, Sire, nothing." But after a moment she added, 
" Yes, I have. My concierge has been asking me to rec- 
ommend him for the military medal, because he fought 
in the Crimea and has not received it. If your Majesty 
would kindly obtain the medal for him I should be very 
glad." 

The Emperor replied: "It is done. I had observed 
that you never asked anything of me. I believe you are 
the only one here — No," he said, turning to me, ** Evans 
has never asked of me anything for himself." 
3 



14 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

My answer was, " I hope your Majesty may always be 
able to say so ; " for I felt then as I do now that, by his fre- 
quent reinembrances and by his appreciation of the serv- 
ices I had occasion to render him, I was always most gen- 
erously recompensed without my seeking. 

My professional relations with the Emperor began, as 
I have already said, soon after he became President of the 
Republic. Tie had extremely delicate teeth — an inheri- 
tance from his mother, he told me; and, being more than 
usually sensitive to pain — ^this condition of hyperaesthesia, 
as Corvisart and Nelaton termed it, was generalized and 
especially pronounced towards the close of his life — he 
suffered greatly from the least inflammation, and, in con- 
sequence, frequently required my professional assistance. 
Moreover, he was constitutionally inclined to hemorrhages, 
and, when a child, nearly lost his life from the bleeding 
which followed the extraction of a tooth. In tliis instance 
he was saved by the watchful care of his mother, who, in the 
night, having discovered the flow of blood, put her finger 
on the gum and held it there firmly until the bleeding 
stopped. 

As I was commonly summoned to the Palace imme- 
diately there was anything amiss about his mouth, I gener- 
ally succeeded in obtaining for him the relief he sought. He 
hated to be hurt, and I was always very careful not to hurt 
him when it was necessary to use an instrument for any 
purpose. It was therefore only natural, perhaps, that the 
Emperor should have gratefully recognized the immense 
relief from absolute torture which, on several occasions, I 
was fortunately and most happily able to secure for him 
almost immediately I saw him. But his appreciation of 
such services was something more than personal. It was 
not limited to me; it reached out and included the whole 
dental profession. He found the dental art to be of great 
use to him, and, accordingly, had an excellent opinion of 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 15 

dentists in general, and saw no reason why they should 
not be as proud of their specialty as the practitioners of 
any branch of medicine or surgery. 

If it was my privilege to render considerable profes- 
sional services to the Emperor, I was richly repaid in 
many ways ; but more especially by the direct support and 
encouragement he gave me in the practise of my art, and 
the social consideration he accorded to me, and, through 
me, to my profession. Indeed, the immense importance of 
this can hardly be understood by one not acquainted with 
the character of the men who practised dentistry when 
I came to Paris, and the contempt with which they were 
spoken of and regarded. Those persons who made it their 
business to treat diseases of the teeth were ranked with bar- 
bers, cuppers, and bleeders, just as, a hundred years be- 
fore, surgeons were, everywhere in Europe. Physicians 
and surgeons considered the care of the teeth as un- 
worthy of their attention and science; the rectification of 
those irregularities of dentition that give rise to defects 
in speech, or disfigure the mouth, they knew nothing about ; 
and extractions were left to be performed by mountebanks 
at street corners, or fakirs at fairs, where the howls of the 
victims were drowned by the beating of drums, the clash 
of cymbals and the laughter and applause of the delighted 
and admiring crowd. This al fresco practise of dentistry 
was to me one of the most curious and foreign features 
of street life in the old Paris of 1847. 

If the dentist was sent for to attend a patient he was 
expected to enter the house by the back-stairs, with the 
tailor and the butcher boy and the other purveyors to 
the establishment. The front-stairs were for those only 
whose social standing gave them the right to use them. 
Although it was never within my own experience to be 
invited to go up the escalier de service, it is not surpris- 
ing that the low social standing of dentists in general, at 
this period, should have been made known to me in ways 



16 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

that sometimes left a sting. But, after a while, these 
things ceased to trouble me. In fact, after I had been 
in Paris a few years, I seldom heard, or overheard, a word 
in disparagement of my profession. An exception, how- 
ever, to this experience may be worth mentioning. 

At a ball given at the Palace of the Tuileries, in 1857, 
to which Mrs. Evans and myself had been invited, we 
overheard a conversation which took place so near to us 
that very little of it was lost. 

" Who is that woman? " said one lady to another — 
' ' she is so delicate and lady-like — she looks like an Ameri- 
can." " Yes, she is," was the reply; '' and only think 
— ^she is the wife of a dentist ! How dreadful ! ' ' 

A few minutes later, the Emperor approached us and 
shook hands with us both. 

" And who is the gentleman to whom the Emperor is 
now speaking so cordially? " again inquired the lady first 
mentioned. " Oh, that is Evans, the dentist, the husband 
of the woman ; he was pointed out to me last week at the 
Cowleys'; they say he is very clever and that the Emperor 
thinks very highly of him ; his manners appear to be good. 
Those American dentists, it seems, are something won- 
derful." 

Not long after, I received a visit from both of these 
ladies, who wished to consult me professionally; and one 

of them, the Countess de L , who is still living, became 

one of my warmest personal friends, 

I was young and ambitious when I came to Paris, and, 
as an American citizen, I had never thought it would be 
necessary for me to feel ashamed of myself socially, or 
that I was about to be deprived of the privileges and civil- 
ities usually conceded to the practitioners of the liberal 
arts and professions. The Emperor quickly saw how I 
felt about the position I was to hold in his immediate 
entourage, in view of my professional relations to him. 
And since he was not disposed to recognize distinctions 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 17 

of any kind among men, except such as were determined 
by intelligence, or personal accomplishments, or special 
abilities, I was very soon admitted to the Elysee officially, 
on a footing of equality with doctors of medicine, sur- 
geons, university professors and men of science in general. 
When the Court was established, I received my appoint- 
ment of " Surgeon Dentist," and in the same form and 
on the same terms as the other doctors and surgeons in 
the " Service de Sante " attached to the " Maison de 
I'Empereur. " My court dress was the gold-embroidered 
special uniform worn by every member of the medical 
staff. We all received the same compensation. 

I was the only dentist at the Court of the Tuileries; 
and the Emperor was most kind and considerate to me on 
all occasions, in public as well as in private. Once having 
a standing at the Imperial Court I was enabled to be re- 
ceived at other courts; and there are few, if any, in 
Europe where I have not been at some time a guest. 

I am sure that the consideration which has been shown 
to me by nearly all the royal families of Europe, whether 
visiting them professionally or otherwise, has been of very 
great service to me personally; and I am equally sure, but 
still more pleased to believe, that my profession has been 
benefited and honored also by the numerous Imperial and 
Royal attentions and honors I have received, during the 
nearly fifty years that I have practised the art of dentistry 
in Europe. 

Sensitive as the Emperor was to physical pain, no man 
faced danger more bravely or more calmly. The courage 
that he displayed at Strasbourg, at Boulogne, and at 
Sedan is a matter of history; so also is the extraordinary 
self-possession, at a most critical moment, that enabled 
him to effect his escape from the fortress at Ham. 

I saw him soon after the cowardly attempt to kill him 
and the Empress, made by Orsini, in front of the Opera 



18 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

House, on the evening of January 14th, 1858. The bombs 
had killed several persons outright and wounded one 
hundred and fifty-six others. The carriage in which he 
was riding was wrecked, and one of the horses killed. 
The Emperor's hat had been pierced with a projectile, 
and the Empress' dress spattered with blood; but by a 
miracle, as it were, their Majesties escaped untouched. 
Descending from their carriage, calm and self-possessed, 
in the darkness — for the explosion had extinguished the 
gaslight — and in the midst of the cries and the rush of 
the panic-stricken crowd, they pushed their way on to the 
Opera House, where, when they appeared in the Imperial 
loge, they were greeted by the audience with tumultuous 
applause. The performance — " Marie Stuart," with a bal- 
let representing the assassination of Gustavus III., King of 
Sweden — was not stopped ; and their Majesties remained in 
the house until its close. 

At midnight they returned to the Tuileries. 

"When the report of this attempt to assassinate the 
Emperor reached me, I was about to go to the English 
Embassy, where I had been invited by Lady Cowley. As 
is usually the case in times of great public excitement, 
the facts were exaggerated. I was told that the Emperor 
and Empress had both been killed. Stunned by the news, 
it was some time before I could realize the situation. It 
then occurred to me that the Tuileries might be attacked 
and that the young Prince Imperial might perhaps be in 
danger. My carriage was at the door, and I drove at once 
to the palace, where I learned that their ]\Iajesties had 
not been killed. I saw Miss Shaw, however, and told her 
that I had come to take her and the ' ' baby, ' ' as she called 
the little Prince, if there should be any fear for his safety, 
over to the British Embassy, where I was sure ' * dear Lady 
Cowley " would be only too pleased to protect him. But 
it was very soon evident that the occupants of the palace 
were in no danger. Not long after I arrived Lord Cow- 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 19 

ley, together with other representatives of the Diplomatic 
Corps and a number of high officials, came to the Tuileries 
to congratulate the Emperor and the Empress on their 
fortunate escape. 

When their Majesties entered the salon, where we had 
all assembled, I was surprised to see that the terrible 
tragedy they had witnessed, and of which they alone were 
the intended victims, had in no way visibly affected the 
absolute self-command and habitual serenity of the Em- 
peror; and that the Empress thanked, with her accus- 
tomed dignity and grace and the sweetest of smiles, those 
who had come to tell her how happy they were to know 
that she had met with no harm. 

But the Empress soon hurried to the room of the young 
Prince to see her ' ' darling ' ' ; and it was only then, when 
she had clasped him in her arms, that she gave way to 
emotion. 

The Emperor related to us some of the particulars of 
the affair, without showing the least excitement. He de- 
plored the loss of life, and the sorrow and suffering it 
had occasioned, and observed that every one had reason 
4;o be thankful that the number of the killed was not 
greater. Pointing to the hole torn in his hat, he turned 
towards me and said very calmly : 

" This was done by an English slug — that bomb was 
made in England." 

I saw him again the next morning. He then spoke of 
the event as if it were really something that concerned 
others rather than himself — as if it suggested to him no 
personal danger — as if he felt perfectly sure that his time 
had not yet come. And the same day he drove out with 
the Empress, going the whole length of the boulevards, 
with only a single attendant. 

Again, his self-control was put to a severe test at the 
time of the great review held at Longchamps, in 1867, in 
honor of the Czar, when Berezowski, the Pole, made his 



20 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

desperate attempt to assassinate Alexander II. Berezowski 
fired point-blank at the Czar, the two sovereigns being seat- 
ed side by side in their carriage. The ball, striking the nose 
of the horse of an equerry, M. Firmin Rainbeaux, dashed 
the blood in their faces and passed between them. The Em- 
peror immediately arose and waved his hat to show the peo- 
ple that nobody was hurt; and then, resuming his seat, 
turned to the Czar and said jokingly : ' ' We have now been 
under fire together. ' ' 

Paris was greatly excited by this affair; but it appar- 
ently affected in no way either the Czar or the Emperor. 
They moved about among the people as usual, and freely, 
both by day and by night. I saw the Emperor soon after 
this wretched attempt to murder a foreign sovereign who 
had come to visit the Exposition, and thus pay homage to 
the nation. In speaking of this incident, he exhibited his 
habitual composure, and appeared not to have been in the 
slightest degree impressed with a sense of the danger he 
had escaped. His only feeling seemed to be one of regret 
that such an experience should have happened in Paris 
to a guest of France. '' I am sorry," said he, " that our 
hospitality should have been so outraged." 

Unostentatious and full of charm, how little the out- 
side world knew the generous and affectionate nature 
underlying the personality which it considered cold and 
calculating ! 

The sympathy of the Emperor for any one in distress 
was so great that often it was almost impossible for him 
to resist the generous impulse of the moment. More than 
one person has owed everything in life — position, fortune, 
honor even — to being able to make a direct appeal to his 
Majesty. As for instance the young officer of the Imperial 
Guard who had ruined himself one night at cards. Hav- 
ing left the table without a sou, and twenty thousand 
francs in debt, this young man, with dishonor staring him 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 21 

in the face, went straight to the Emperor, and told him 
the whole story, saying that he saw but one sure way 
out of his trouble, and that was to kill himself. The 
Emperor listened calmly until he had finished; and then, 
without uttering a word, opened a drawer in his bureau, 
and taking out twenty one-thousand-franc notes, he 
handed them to the young man, saying as he did so, " The 
life of one of my soldiers is worth more than the money 
I have given you, but I am not sufficiently rich to be able 
to redeem them all at that price." Then, with a pleasant 
smile, he added : ' * You can go now — but don 't do it 
again," 

And if credence can be given to another story, whis- 
pered about at the time, but afterward told openly, the 
goodness of heart of Napoleon III. sometimes led him to 
be as inconsiderate of the letter of the military code as 
was our great President Abraham Lincoln. 

The case was one of espionage — a Dreyfus case, in point 
of fact. A young artillery officer of distinction, and, 
moreover, a sort of " protege " of the Emperor, was 
charged — ^so it is said — with furnishing the Austrian Gov- 
ernment with a description of a rifled cannon which had 
been constructed under the Emperor's personal supervi- 
sion. This was just before France and Italy declared war 
against Austria. The case having been fully investigated, 
the incriminating facts and circumstances were reported 
to the Emperor, who listened to what was said in silence. 
He requested, however, that the lieutenant should be 
brought before him the next day. As soon as the accused 
officer was ushered into his Majesty's presence, he was 
seized with a nervous paroxysm that made him speechless 
and was pitiful to witness. Napoleon III., standing be- 
fore him and looking calmly in his face, said in the quiet- 
est manner possible, " It is true, then — you are a traitor ! ' ' 
As the young man made no reply, but began to sob, the 
Emperor continued, * ' Stop your crying, sir — listen to me ! 



22 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Out of respect for the honor of the army, and inasmuch 
as the criminal act you were about to commit has, very 
fortunately, not been carried out, I pardon you. Having 
once loved you, this is my sad duty. Furthermore, I do 
not wish that any one should be able to say that a French 
officer has betrayed his country. There will be no scandal ; 
and for you there will be, at the same time, no punishment. 
But, from this hour, you are no longer a soldier. Hand 
to me your resignation immediately and I will send it to 
the Minister of War." 

The lieutenant wrote his resignation on the spot and 
gave it to the Emperor, who, taking it without a word, 
walked to his desk to resume the work upon which he was 
then engaged. 

As the story goes, when the young man left the Em- 
peror's cabinet, the officer who had him in charge said to 
him, " Well, his Majesty has been very indulgent to you 
— ^you will neither be shot nor degraded. You are satis- 
fied, are you not? " The young man making no reply, 
he continued : ' ' But you understand, sir, what the pardon 
of the Emperor must mean — for you ? ' ' Then, looking up 
into the face of the officer and speaking for the first time, 
the young man said, " Yes, sir." 

And that evening he blew his brains out. 

So the honor of the army was saved. But I am quite 
sure it was never the intention of the Emperor to have it 
saved in that way. It would have been incompatible with 
one of the reasons assigned by him for pardoning the of- 
fense committed, and contrary also to his well-known ab- 
horrence of all scandal. And the story itself — is it true? 
For, kind as the Emperor always was, no man could be 
firmer or more inexorable than he, when dealing with sub- 
jects relating to principles and public order. 

But the story of the payment of the ** debt of honor " 
is authentic. And it may please the reader to know that 
the twenty thousand francs were returned to the Emperor, 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 23 

and that the young man not only followed the advice given 
to him, but became, afterward, one of the most brilliant 
and distinguished officers in the French army. 

The kindness and generosity of the Emperor were not 
however the products of a passing emotion or a common- 
place feeling of good-fellowship, limited to those who were 
brought into immediate relationship with him, but arose 
from an elevated sentiment of benevolence, of longanimity 
even, towards all men. When the death of Frangois Arago 
was announced, although the great astronomer and phys- 
icist had been one of his most uncompromising political 
enemies, the Emperor directed that the Government should 
be represented at the funeral by Marshal Vaillant, the 
Grand Marshal of the palace, and he himself, personally, 
by an officier d'ordonnance, Baron Tascher de la 
Pagerie. He was willing, at once, to efface from his mind 
the depreciatory words that Arago had uttered, words that 
the world itself would not long remember, and to pay an 
immediate tribute to the genius of the man whose name 
the nation was about to place upon the walls of the Pan- 
theon. And how ready he was to honor the memory of 
Carnot ! how ready to come to the relief of Lamartine, in 
his old age and poverty ! And yet how small, even at the 
time, was the recognition he received for these generous 
acts. Strange as it may seem, there was scarcely a news- 
paper that did not reproach him for extending a helping 
hand to the author of ' ' Jocelyn. ' ' But the Emperor was 
willing to recognize the merits of men who had stood aloof 
from him, and from whom he had nothing to expect in re- 
turn for his generous appreciation of the services they had 
rendered to their country. He took of events and of men 
a view too broad and too impersonal ever to forget that he 
was Emperor of all the French, or to refuse Imperial 
homage to those persons who had conspicuously contrib- 
uted to the prosperity and glory of France — even were 
they his bitterest enemies. 



24 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

He wished to see France great and prosperous. But 
the dream he cherished was that Europe and the world 
might be at peace ; and his hope, his ambition was that 
it might be his destiny to lay the foundations of a future 
reign of justice among men. In 1854 he said: " France 
has no idea of aggrandisement ; I love to proclaim it loudly 
the time of conquests has passed never to return, for it is 
not by extending the limits of its territory that a nation is 
to be henceforth honored and to become powerful ; it is by 
making itself the leader of generous ideas and by causing 
the sentiment of right and justice to prevail everywhere." 
And he continued to say these things to the end of his life 
— striving all the while to make real what he was pro- 
foundly convinced ought to be governing principles in a 
well-ordered State. 

The policy for which he has been most severely crit- 
icized, that of natural frontiers — the rectification of boun- 
daries which he believed to be necessary for the permanent 
peace of Europe — was only one of the ways in which his 
philanthropic feeling found expression. Indeed, there is 
something really pathetic in his attitude at Saint Cloud, 
when, reluctantly yielding to the advice of his Councilors 
and finally consenting to the mobilization of the troops, he 
said : " If we should succeed in this war, its most benefi- 
cent result will be our ability to secure a general disarma- 
ment in Europe." 

His philanthropy manifested itself in innumerable 
ways, and in his dealings with every one, no matter 
how humble his station in life. His grandeur never 
weighed heavily with him. A democrat at heart, he loved 
to talk with the common people — the soldier, the peas- 
ant, the working man; he was always willing to listen 
to their complaints and ready to relieve them when he 
could. 

One day, when he was inspecting some buildings that 
were being erected by his direction, an aide-de-camp in- 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 525 

formed him that the workmen seemed to be discontented. 
* ' What is the matter ? ' ' said the Emperor. 

" Well," replied the officer, after hesitating a moment, 
" they say that you and everybody about you are drink- 
ing champagne, while beer is thought to be good enough 
for them." 

The Emperor made no reply, but slowly and alone 
Avalked forward, and, approaching a number of the men 
who were standing together in a group, said, " Good 
morning, my friends." Then, after a few pleasant words, 
he continued, " Ah, they have given you beer, I see. 
Come, let us have a glass of champagne ! ' ' And when 
the champagne, which he then ordered, had been brought 
and the glasses of all had been filled, calling out to the 
foreman, and touching glasses with him, he said, " My 
best wishes," and, turning to the others, " Your good 
health, my friends ! ' ' 

All of this was done and said with such perfect ease 
and naturalness, such entire sincerity, that it went straight 
to the hearts of these men, who felt that the Emperor was 
not like other emperors and kings, but was as they ex- 
pressed it " one of us." And yet, although approachable 
at all times and absolutely free from haughtiness, when 
he was most familiar there was in his manner a dignity 
which caused those with whom he was speaking to under- 
stand that he was still the Emperor. 

Never was a ruler judged more falsely than Napoleon 
III. He loved mankind and was always thinking of ways 
in which he could benefit the people or make some one 
happy. On one occasion, after he had spoken of the con- 
dition of the laboring classes in France, and the measures 
that ought to be taken to raise the standard of living 
among the people generally, I ventured to say to him, 
" Why! your Majesty is almost a Socialist, your sym- 
pathies are always with the poor; their welfare would 
seem to concern you more than anything else." 



26 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

" It ought to," he replied. Was he not worthy of the 
title given to him by the people — " L'Empereur des 
Ouvriers "I" 

But it must not be supposed that the Emperor, deeply 
interested as he was in ameliorating the condition of the 
poor, sought to find in fanciful speculations and theories 
remedies for the want and suffering which he deplored. 
" No amelioration of the lot of the laboring classes is 
possible," he said, " except under a firmly established 
government, and where there is a sense of absolute social 
security. The false idea is the doctrine that pretends to 
reach this end by upsetting everything which exists, and 
by the successful working of chimeras that have no roots 
in the past, and whose future is hopeless. ' ' 

Ideas, principles — things that were impersonal and en- 
during — were the concerns that preoccupied his mind. It 
was the triumph of these that he strove for ; and to which 
he easily subordinated every other sentiment and impulse. 
He was always ready to forget the harsh sayings of his 
political enemies; and if they were men of ability and 
distinction he frequently took great pains to conciliate 
them and to secure their services in the interests of the 
State, and, if possible, their friendship as well. " On 
gouverne," said he, '' avec un parti; on administre avec des 
capacitSs. ' ' 

His idea was to establish a government of order and 
justice in which the rights of every man should be re- 
spected ; and one also in which the administrative functions 
should be discharged by the most competent, without regard 
to rank, or fortune, or privilege, or social circumstances of 
any sort. And to this end — to this supreme purpose — 
liberating himself from every transient passion or previous 
prejudice, he solicited the support of all the people, and 
strove to keep the way to the highest offices and positions 
in the Government open to all the talents. 

It was by means of this conciliatory disposition, by 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 27 

tact, by the charms of his personality, his conversation, 
his demeanor, that he subdued his political enemies when 
he chanced to meet them, and brought many of them finally 
to rally round him. 

The Emperor has been bitterly denounced by his politi- 
cal adversaries, who have applied to him nearly every name 
in the vocabulary of ineptitude and of crime. These names, 
however, are not to be taken seriously ; they never were by 
those who uttered them. They are not characterizations. 
They merely indicate the state of mind of those who made 
use of them ; for, as Paul Louis Courier has told us, ' ' imbe- 
cile," " rascal," " thief," " assassin," are in France the 
conventional epithets which writers and speakers apply 
to a person when they simply wish to say they do not agree 
with him. But very few of the Emperor's calumniators 
have failed to recognize the amiable character of the man ; 
and it is a fact, sufficiently curious to be remarked, that, so 
far as I know, not one of those writers or ' ' chroniqueurs ' ' 
who have seen fit to be especially spiteful when speaking of 
the Empress, has failed to accentuate the malice by extol- 
ling the generous and noble qualities of the Emperor, and 
by discharging him even of a large share of his official 
responsibilities. 

Indeed, whatever may be the judgment of contemporary 
France with respect to the merits or shortcomings of the 
Imperial regime, or of the Emperor himself, nothing is 
more certain than that it would be extremely difficult at the 
present time to find a personal enemy of Napoleon III. in 
the country over which he once ruled. 

I have had on many occasions the privilege of listening 
to some of the most distinguished men in Europe, when 
they have been speaking freely and informally about the 
Emperor and his Court. While the opinions of these per- 
sons were often at variance in regard to matters relating 
to the policy of the Imperial Government, they had only 



28 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

one opinion as to the Emperor's amiable character and 
the goodness of his heart. His magnanimity, his forget- 
fulness of injuries, his great kindness to the unfortunate, 
even his political enemies, foreign as well as domestic, were 
willing to admit ; although some of those who were the bene- 
ficiaries of his generosity and were indebted to him for 
everything they possessed, afterward proved singularly in- 
appreciative of the indulgence and favors that had been 
most liberally granted to them. 

Not one of these was Abd-el-Kader, the famous Emir 
of Algiers — that noble representative of the Arab race 
who, after years of heroic resistance, having surrendered 
to the French, on condition that he should not be deprived 
of his liberty, in flagrant violation of the terms of the 
capitulation w^as shut up in prison at Amboise by the Gov- 
ernment of Louis Philippe. Nor did the Republic of 1848 
have the grace to release him, and thus make amends for 
a breach of faith that dishonored the army and was a dis- 
grace to the nation. But the very first act of Louis Napo- 
leon on obtaining Imperial power, in December, 1852, was 
to set Abd-el-Kader at liberty. Not only did the Prince 
feel that it was shameful for a great Government to fail 
to keep its promises to the weak, but that to spare the 
vanquished was a principle dictated alike by considerations 
of public policy and humanity. And so the Emir, having 
been set free, was no longer treated like an enemy, but 
rather as a brother; for when he knelt before his bene- 
factor to thank him, the Emperor, taking him by the hand, 
raised him up and embraced him; and then gave him a 
residence at Broussa, in Syria, and provided him with 
attendants, and horses, and money, and everything neces- 
sary to his comfort and his maintenance, in keeping with 
his high rank and his splendid military record. 

When the Emir came to Paris not long after, he was 
treated by the Emperor with the greatest considera- 
tion. He and his Arab retinue had a place of honor 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A FRIENDSHIP 29 

at every fete or military review, and were the lions of 
the day. 

Abd-el-Kader was deeply sensible of the kind attentions 
and the honors he received during this visit to the French 
capital. " I never can forget," he said, " what the Lord 
of Kings has done for me, Abd-el-Kader, the son of Mahhi- 
el-Din. He is dearer to me than are any of those whom 
I love — I was far away and he has brought me near to 
him. Others may have rendered him greater service; no 
one can have for him an affection greater than mine." 

In 1855, Abd-el-Kader paid a second visit to Paris, 
where he and his retinue of attendants were again received 
officially, with the honors and the courtesy due to princes. 
Wherever they went, the manly bearing and the pictur- 
esque costumes of these swarthy guests of the Emperor 
made them the observed of all observers at the first of 
the great Paris Expositions. 

While in the Capital, the Emir came to consult me 
professionally. I saw him frequently — he visited me even 
at my own house — and the distinction of the man, and the 
story of his brave life and his fall from power, interested 
me greatly. But his gratitude for the favors shown him 
by the Emperor and the Empress was something he always 
seemed to carry very close to his heart. 

" Where I live," he said, " there are unhappily fre- 
quent conflicts between the Mohammedans and the Chris- 
tians, and, if ever I should have the chance, I shall be 
more Christian than the Christians, for I have suffered 
and promised, and Abd-el-Kader never lies." 

And his was no vain promise, for when the conflict 
between the Druses and the Maronites broke out afresh in 
Sj^ria, in 1860, Abd-el-Kader used his powerful influence 
among his coreligionists to prevent the massacre of the 
Christians and to preserve peace. Indeed, the Maronites 
would have been exterminated but for his magnanimous 
protection. 
4 



30 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

That the famous son of Mahhi-el-Din never failed to 
remember his own generous protector and benefactor — nor 
indeed any one who had rendered him a service — I have 
in my possession an interesting proof. 

He said to me one day, " I cannot recompense you 
for what you have done for me; but I will give you my 
portrait — and I will write beneath it my name." A pen 
having been brought to him, he then wrote a number of 
lines in Arabic, of which the following is a translation: 

' ' Praise be to God ! This is my portrait which I have 
given to the Seigneur Evans, Doctor. I hope that he 
will keep it. 

" When he has cured Kings, they have given him 
Crosses as a recompense — but I — a poor man, I give him 
my portrait; and, judging from what I know of his kind- 
ness of heart and his character, I am sure he will be as 
pleased to receive this portrait, as he has been to receive 
the decorations that have been conferred upon him by 
Kings. 

" I myself was once a Sultan — now I am but an orphan, 
kindly picked up by the Emperor Napoleon III., may God 
glorify him. 

*' Written by me, Abd-el-Kader, son of Mahhi-el-Din, 
about the middle of the month of Moharram, 1272 (begin- 
ning of October, 1855)." 



CHAPTER II 

CHARACTER OP THE EMPEROR 

The mother of Louis Napoleon — ^The personal appearance of the 
Emperor — His love of the country — "He was a wonderful land- 
scape gardener" — He cared nothing for Art for art's sake — 
His utilitarianism — His domestic habits — He was an able writer — 
He despised flattery — M. Duruy — ^The Emperor disliked circum- 
locution — He was tenacious of his opinions, but slow to form them 
— The sources of his information — ^The BurJingame Mission — 
The Emperor's extreme caution — ^An illustration — ^The Emperor's 
wit and humor — He was a peacemaker — His imperturbability 
no mask — He was a forcible speaker — His religion — His pride — 
His qualities the opposites of our faults. 

lOUIS NAPOLEON was in more than one sense 
the son of his mother. He was the younger 
of Queen Hortense's two (surviving) children; 
and while the elder brother went at an early 
age to live with his father Louis Bonaparte, Louis re- 
mained constantly with his mother until he entered the 
University of Augsburg. The devotion of this mother to 
her son — who a few years later was to become her only 
son — ^was unbounded. It began early and ended only with 
her death.* In him her whole life was centered. To his 
education she dedicated herself. She admired him and 
was proud of him. ' ' What a generous nature ! ' ' she used 
to exclaim. " What a good and worthy young man! " 
" He was born to do great things." And his letters to 

* In her autobiography Queen Hortense writes: "Mon fils 4tait si 
faible que je pensais le perdre en naissant. II fallut le baigner dans le 
vin, I'envelopper dans du coton pour le rappeler a la vie." 

31 




S2 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

" 3Ia chere Maman," how full they are of filial affection 
and respect! 

The Emperor often spoke of his mother, of how much 
he was indebted to her for her tender care when a child, 
and for the wise counsel she gave him during the years 
they lived together in exile. I doubt if he ever regretted 
anything more than that his mother did not live to sei^ 
the realization of hopes they had cherished in common, 
and her son on the throne of his uncle. Some of his very 
last days at Chislehurst were spent in reading over the 
letters his mother had written to him, and in reviving the 
memories of those happy years of his life when, at her 
side, he learned by heart the true story of Napoleon. And 
it is undoubtedly to her that must be ascribed in a very 
large measure the powerful impression the career of Na- 
poleon — with its astonishing accomplishments and noble 
but unfulfilled purposes — made upon the mind of th(^ 
young Prince. " No one," he used to say, " ever succeeded 
in describing Napoleon so well as my mother." And no 
one, perhaps, was so admirably qualified to do this ; for the 
mother of Napoleon III. was not only " adorned with all 
the talents," and accomplished in nearly every art 
within the domain of the imagination and of taste, but 
was a woman of unusual intellectual power and spiritual 
insight. Nor had any one examined more closely or under- 
stood better the character of Napoleon. It is not sur- 
prising, therefore, that the lessons given by this mother 
to this son in his earliest childhood and in his j^outh, and 
especially those concerning his duties to his family and 
his country, like those given by Roman matrons to their 
children, formed the law and the religion of Louis Napo- 
leon. And this Queen Hortense knew full well when 
she Avrote in her last will and testament the words: " I 
have no political counsel to give my son. I know that 
he recognizes his position and all the duties his name 
imposes upon him." 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 33 

Queen Hortense and the Empress Josephine — the 
mother and the grandmother of Louis Napoleon — were 
each of them famous beauties; but the Emperor Napoleon 
in. was not a handsome man in the sense commonly given 
to these words. His head was large, usually slightly in- 
clined to one side, and his features were strongly pro- 
nounced. The forehead was broad, the nose prominent, 
the eyes small, grayish-blue in color, and generally expres- 
sionless, owing to a somnolent drooping of the lids; but 
they brightened wonderfully when he was amused, and, 
when he was aroused they were full of power ; nor were those 
likely to forget it who had once seen, through these win- 
dows of the soul, the flash of the fire that burned within. 
His complexion was blond but rather sallow; the lower 
part of the face was lengthened by a short " goatee " — 
called in honor of his Majesty an " imperial " — and broad- 
ened by a 'very heavy, silky mustache, the ends of which 
were stiffly waxed. His hair was of a light brown color, 
and, when I first knew him, was abundant and worn 
rather long; at a later period it was trimmed short and 
was habitually brushed in the style made familiar by the 
effigy on the coinage of the Empire. In complexion, in 
the color of his hair, and also in the shape of his head, 
Napoleon III. was a Beauharnais, not a Bonaparte, and 
a Frank, not a Corsican. He was a little below the average 
height ; but his person was marked with dignity and distinc- 
tion, and his deportment with ease and courtliness. No one 
seeing him could fail to observe that he was not an ordi- 
nary man. Late in life, he inclined to stoutness; at the 
tim.e I first met him, his figure was not large but his body 
was compact and muscular. 

He was always carefully dressed, and in public, when in 
plain clothes usually wore a black frock coat tightly but- 
toned. But whatever the fashion of the day might be in 
hats, rarely could he be induced to wear any other than a 
" Count d'Orsay," or a very subdued type of the style in 



34 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

vogue, in which respect he exhibited his good taste — to those 
of us who remember the tall, flat-brimmed, graceless 
" stovepipes " with which the Parisian hommes du monde 
covered their heads under the Empire. 

When a young man, the Emperor was fond of athletic 
sports, hunting, fencing, and military exercises of all 
kinds. He was a strong swinuner — an accomplishment to 
which he may have owed his life, on the failure of the 
expedition to Boulogne — and a fine rider. In fact, he 
never appeared to better advantage than when in the 
saddle; and during the years of his Presidency he was 
often seen on horseback in the parks and suburbs of Paris, 
accompanied by only one or two attendants. A little later, 
and after his marriage, he liked to go out in a carriage 
and to drive the horses himself. When staying at Saint 
Cloud, he was to be seen almost daily in the park or its 
neighborhood, riding with the Empress in a phaeton, be- 
hind a span of fast trotters, handling the reins himself, 
and entirely unattended. 

During the latter part of his life, owing to increasing 
infirmities, he became more and more disinclined to physi- 
cal exertion. Horseback exercise was now almost impos- 
sible, and his out-of-door excursions were limited, with 
rare exceptions, to carriage drives and walks. He could 
be seen in these last years almost any day, when in Paris, 
on the terrace of the Tuileries overlooking the Seine, al- 
ways moving slowly, and frequently leaning on the arm 
of an attendant, or stopping occasionally, as he was fond 
of doing, to look down upon the merry groups of children 
at play in the garden, whose clamorous happiness, care- 
less and unrestrained, like a breath of fresh air from 
another world, was an inspiration and a delight to him. 

He hated to be shut up, and was never so happy as 
when he could get away from Paris, and be in the open 
air. He loved the country and country life. I have 
heard him say that he would have liked nothing better 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 35 

than to be a farmer. He was pleased to see the broad 
fields, and orchards, and the gardens ; he would have been 
still more pleased could he have cultivated them, or laid 
them out. 

When the improvements were being made in the Bois 
de Boulogne, he took so much interest in the work that 
he frequently came from Saint Cloud very early in the 
morning, not simply to see what the engineers had accom- 
plished, but to superintend and direct, or as an American 
might say, " to boss the job." I have been with him there 
myself, with M. Alphand, the chief engineer, when, having 
proposed some change, the Emperor has taken a hammer 
from a workman, and planted a number of pickets with 
his own hands, to mark the line that in his opinion should 
be followed. He seemed to take great pleasure in indul- 
ging his taste for this kind of work. 

A good story that illustrates his real capacity in this 
direction was told me by the Dul^e of Hamilton, when 
I was visiting him at Brodick Castle in Scotland. Being 
seated one day on a bench by the side of his Grace, not 
far from the castle, I remarked: " How wonderfully the 
vista opens before us; the trees have been so cut away 
as to make this landscape most picturesque." 

" Yes," he replied, " it has been greatly admired; it 
is quite perfect. But, do you know, this was all done by 
Louis Napoleon. When he was in exile in England, he 
used to come here occasionally, and was very fond of the 
place. But he was always suggesting changes, which, he 
said, would greatly improve it — the removal of trees from 
certain places and the planting of others elsewhere — with 
flowers here and shrubbery there. I, and my father be- 
fore me, allowed the Prince to carry out his suggestions, 
and you now see with what excellent and very beautiful 
results. He was a wonderful landscape gardener; and," 
he added laughingly, "if he should ever lose his place, 
I should like to take him as my head gardener." 



36 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

I afterward told the Emperor what the duke had 
said — that he had a place for him always open, in case 
he ever needed one. He laughed and replied: " He was 
always most kind. I shall never forget my free and in- 
dependent life at Arran with the good duke. Those were 
among the happiest days of my life, and the privilege 
I enjoyed of exercising without restraint some of my per- 
sonal tastes contributed very much to my happiness." 

Louis Napoleon had, however, little liking for Art for 
its own sake — nor speaking generally had he a very high 
appreciation of the excellency of the products of aesthetic 
feeling and the poetic imagination. He loved facts, not fan- 
cies. He was a philosopher and not a poet. He was called 
a dreamer ; and so he was in the sense in which the word can 
be applied to a political idealist — to a man incessantly 
thinking — whose mind is engrossed and preoccupied by so- 
cial and economic problems. But he was very far from be- 
ing a dreamer who cherished illusions, or wasted his time in 
idle speculations. He kept very close to his facts in all 
his thinking — never reasoning far ahead of them after the 
manner of visionaries and so-called philosophers. 

The Emperor's mind was preeminently a practical one. 
From early youth he was only fond of those studies that 
had utilitarian ends in view; questions relating to gov- 
ernment, to the army, to political economy, to sociology 
— whatever might contribute to the well-being of the peo- 
ple. There was never a detail so small concerning any of 
these subjects which, if new to him, failed to interest him. 
He was also unusually anxious to know all that was to 
be learned about ingeniously constructed machinery and 
useful inventions of every kind. He had a great admira- 
tion for these things. This, he acknowledged to me, was 
one of his principal reasons for having a very high 
opinion of Americans. On my showing him, one day, 
a mechanical device which a New York gentleman had 
requested me to submit to him, he said, after examining 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 37 

it carefully, and expressing his appreciation of the skill 
of the inventor, " You Americans are sensible enough not 
to permit yourselves to be bound hand and foot by the 
usages and customs of centuries. Your aim is to accom- 
plish what you do with the least expenditure of force — 
to economize labor and time; and it is by such economies 
that industrial and social progress is made possible. ' ' 

The utilitarianism of the Emperor was not, by any 
means, a mere sentiment confined to words, and to com- 
mending and recompensing others for the excellence of 
their inventions. Possessing himself an ingenious, con- 
structive mind, he had a decided taste for mechanical 
work, and liked to suggest improvements and to experi- 
ment with things. He so loved to make use of tools that, 
at one time, he had a lathe set up in a room in the Tuile- 
ries, and would often spend an hour there in turning the 
legs and arms of chairs, and similar objects. And the walls 
of his study bore the marks of the bullets with which he 
and Major Minie experimented, when they were working out 
the problems that led to the invention of the once famous 
projectile. He often did with his own hands impromptu 
what he thought he could do better than any one else. 
I have seen him more than once, when an article of fur- 
niture was being moved or a picture hung, and some diffi- 
culty was met with, step forward and remove the obstacle 
himself. And he seemed to take delight not so much in 
telling how the thing ought to be done, as in showing 
how easily it could be done, by having some regard for 
very simple mechanical principles. 

But more illustrative still of his love of invention — 
of his passion one might say for making improvements 
— was the work upon which he was engaged at the time 
of his death. When, with the approach of winter, in the 
autumn of 1872, the weather became colder, and the price 
of fuel increased, it occurred to the Emperor — thinking 
always of the poor — that something might be done to 



38 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

decrease the great waste of heat carried up the chimneys 
of dwelling-houses with the ascending smoke. 

As the result of his studies he proposed to bring this 
about by means of a cast-iron cylinder, with certain attach- 
ments, to be set in the fireplace. 

" I think this apparatus," said the Emperor, *' will 
considerably increase the heat in the apartment, and re- 
duce the coal bills by more than one-half." His draw- 
ings, all prepared with his own hand, were given to a 
practical stove maker and the apparatus, when constructed, 
was found to work well and as was intended. But the 
Emperor thought he could still improve it; and he was 
experimenting on it when he died. It was the very last 
work upon which he was engaged. And, if it serves to il- 
lustrate the Emperor's mechanical turn of mind, when we 
remember how much he did during his reign to improve 
the material and social condition of his subjects, how 
deeply he was interested in the uplifting of the masses, 
it is interesting to know that even when dethroned and 
in exile he still cherished the same humanitarian ideals, 
and that the last subject which occupied his mind was how 
he could make lighter the burdens and diminish the suffer- 
ings of the poor. 

The Emperor's domestic habits were simple. The 
Emperor and Empress generally breakfasted alone with 
the Prince Imperial, while residing at the Tuileries — 
although when at Saint Cloud, or Fontainebleau, or Com- 
piegne, the midday breakfast or lunch was taken with 
the company in the palace. 

The hour fixed for dinner, at the Tuileries, was seven 
o'clock, and it was then only that their Majesties were 
in the habit of meeting at table the guests of the palace, 
generally from twelve to eighteen in number, who in- 
cluded the officers and ladies of the palace who were on 
duty for the day, and one or more guests. The table 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 39 

dinner service was very elegant, and the cooking as nearly 
perfect as possible, with fresh fruit of every sort in all 
seasons. 

But there was little ceremony and the formalities were 
few. The dinner was served with the greatest order and 
promptness. Rarely more than three-quarters of an hour 
was spent at dinner. And the time always seemed even 
less than this, if the Emperor was in good spirits, for he 
generally led the conversation, which was sure to be most 
interesting and entertaining; the news of the day, remi- 
niscences, stories — these were his favorite subjects. He 
liked to address his conversation to some one in particular, 
and to say something amiable to each of the guests; but 
avoided saying anything of persons — in fact all talk about 
persons was strictly tabooed at the Imperial table. 

After dinner the company passed into the Salon 
d 'Apollo — a splendid room with a lofty ceiling, and mag- 
nificently furnished after the style of Louis XIV. — where 
coffee was served. The Emperor always took his coffee 
standing, smoking at the same time a cigarette — the gentle- 
men standing around and the ladies being seated. After 
a general conversation for perhaps a quarter of an hour 
the Emperor was usually in the habit of quietly withdraw- 
ing to his private rooms, on the floor below, where he 
could look over his papers and smoke his cigarettes at 
his ease. 

Often, however, he reappeared at ten o'clock, when 
tea was served, and remained chatting with the company 
for a while, or sometimes sat listening but taking no part 
in the conversation until he finally retired for the night. 
The Empress generally left the salon about half past 
eleven. 

The rooms in his palace which the Emperor selected 
for dwelling-rooms were chosen and furnished with regard 
to comfort, rather than for luxurious display. He occu- 
pied a few chambers having low ceilings on the ground 



40 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

floor of the Tuileries between the Pavilion de 1 'Horloge and 
the Pavilion de Flore. Queen Victoria of England, in 
her diary, speaking of the Emperor's rooms, says: 

" In his bedroom are busts of his father and uncle, 
and an old glass case, which he had with him in England, 
containing relics of all sorts that are peculiarly valuable 
to him. In some of the other rooms are portraits of Na- 
poleon, Josephine, his own mother with his elder brother, 
and one of her with his brother and himself as little 
children." 

The walls of the room where he spent most of his time, 
were covered with miniatures of the Imperial family, and 
the room itself contained a beautiful collection of arms, 
and many historical relics and documents of the greatest 
value. 

He loved this room above all. It was his ' ' snuggery. ' ' 
Plere he could feel that he was free indeed ; here he could 
put on the loosest trousers, and the coat that he liked, and 
drop where he pleased the ashes of his cigarettes, of which 
his pockets always contained a seemingly inexhaustible 
supply. And here, amid heaps of papers, books, and mod- 
els, he spent the hours, indulging in pleasant reminiscences 
of the past or devoting himself to serious studies of 
the great questions that directly concerned the adminis- 
tration of the Government, or the international policy of 
France. And he gave here, also, audiences to scholars, 
inventors, and men of science, talking with them about 
history and archaeology, the latest invention, or the most 
recent discovery. 

How often have I been with the Emperor in this room ! 
And how often had I here an opportunity of admiring the 
clear, and intelligent, and wise remarks he made in regard 
to the most varied subjects ! There was nothing of im- 
portance going on in his Empire, or in other countries, 
in which he was not interested; and, notwithstanding the 
cares of Government, and his numerous preoccupations, he 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 41 

always found time to inform himself concerning the scien- 
tific and industrial accomplishments of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. He especially liked to talk about the marvelous in- 
ventions and the practical improvements which were 
brought to Europe from the United States; it w^as here in 
this room on the ground floor of the palace, looking out 
upon the garden of the Tuileries, that we had our long con- 
versations with regard to the trans- Atlantic cable, the new 
tramways, army hospitals, sanitary institutions, and other 
American applications of art and science by which the 
whole world has been benefited. 

Napoleon III. was a most industrious man. He re- 
tired late and rose early. My professional appointments 
were very often fixed for some early hour in the morning. 
When I arrived, I generally found him in his cabinet and 
learned that he had been there several hours, hard at work, 
wnth books and documents and memoranda at hand, study- 
ing some special subject, or writing out abstracts, or pre- 
paring a paper for some particular occasion. 

He was very fond of writing, and took great pleasure 
in sending to the Press communications to be published 
anonymously. Early in life, he began to exhibit his rare 
talent as a writer and also as a journalist. And what he 
wrote was always well written. He needed no help in 
his literary work. Once his materials were in hand, he 
preferred to frame his own paragraphs and to polish his 
own periods. It was the subject that interested him. He 
had no fancy for superfluous words, or metaphors, or elab- 
orate ornament, but expressed his thought with direct- 
ness, in language that was definite and transparent, sane 
and sonorous, and which at times was almost lapidary in 
its terseness. His published speeches, proclamations, 
and letters are, many of them, remarkable examples of 
clear and forcible literary expression. There can be no 
question about their authorship. It used to be said that 



42 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Mocquard gave to them their clarity and finish. The death, 
however, of this accomplished chef du cabinet did not affect 
in the least the quality of the literary work of Napoleon 
III. For many reasons he was careful to submit what he 
wrote to the criticism of experts. But his own judgment 
was the final authority for his literary style. It is a case in 
which one may plainly see that the style is the man. His 
acknowledged writings from first to last, without exception, 
bear the same stamp, and are the products of the same 
mind. Had Louis Napoleon not been an Emperor he would 
have been counted one of the ablest publicists and esteemed 
as one of the most brilliant writers of his time. 

I may relate here a little incident which will go to 
show that the Emperor's literary ability — and, perhaps, 
in the case I am about to mention, his political tact also 
— ^when recognized was not always admired. 

It may be remembered that M. Thiers was very friendly 
to Prince Louis on the latter 's return to France in 1848. 
When the Prince began to think of becoming a candidate 
for the Presidency of the Republic, he consulted M. Thiers 
about it, and asked him what he thought of his publishing 
a declaration of political principles, telling him that if he 
would consider the subject he (the Prince) would think 
it over also. 

A few days later the Prince called his friends together, 
and laid before them two drafts of an address to his fellow- 
citizens. On the first one being read, it was pronounced 
* ' fine " ; it was long, well-developed, carefully written, 
and sonorous, but intentionally vague. The second one 
was then called for. It was short, concise, simple, clear 
— something that " he who ran might read." Every one 
who heard it was delighted. The preference given to it 
was unanimous. The Prince then said to his friends, 
" You embarrass me greatly; the first draft that I read 
was written by M. Thiers, the second one by myself." 

" But yours is the best! " they all exclaimed. 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 43 

And in consequence the draft of the Prince was adopted 
and published without the alteration of a word. 

On hearing what had taken place at this meeting, M. 
Thiers was greatly exasperated. Not only had his literary 
self-esteem been wounded, but he foresaw that the Prince, 
should he be elected to the Presidency of the Republic, would 
be quite able to dispense with his services in connection 
with more important matters. He pronounced the mani- 
festo of the Prince " imprudent," and declared that 
not he, but his friend, M. de Remusat, had written the 
rejected address, and, of course, finally went over to the 
Opposition.* 

The Emperor was generally slow to form friendships, 
but, when once made, they were lasting. They were not 
broken by calumnious stories — these he never eared to 
listen to. " You have no need to defend yourself," he 
said one day to one of his friends, ' ' the more they calum- 
niate you, the more I love you." 

The Emperor despised flattery and even the semblance 
of it. Unlike most princes, he knew men only too well. If 
he asked of any one his opinion on a subject it was in the 
hope that the person consulted would not hesitate to make 
known his real opinion, however opposed it might be to 
the one he himself had formed; and he never took offense, 
even when the contrary opinion was the blunt expression 
of a political difference, provided it was sincerely held. 
In fact, it was by just such an expression that M. Duruy, 
the famous Minister of Public Instruction under the Em- 
pire, first won the esteem and confidence of his sovereign. 

* This incident is related somewhat differently in the Life of 
Napoleon the Third, by Blanchard Jerrold, who gives as his authority 
Albert Mansfeld, a German writer. But the account in the text is the 
Emperor's own version of the origin of the manifesto. See also "Sou- 
venirs du Second Empire," par M. Granier de Cassagnac, partie pre- 
miere, p. 53. 



44 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Having been invited to look over some chapters of the 
" Life of Caesar," which the Emperor was then writing, 
M. Duruy did not hesitate to criticize with great frank- 
ness the work of the Imperial author. On coming to a 
passage in which Caesar was commended for having 
usurped the sovereign power, and it was asserted that 
when public order was in danger the usurpation of au- 
thority might become necessary, turning to his Majesty 
M. Duruy said: " I cannot allow this justification of a 
violation of law to pass without notice. There have been 
coups d'Etat — but we should try to forget them." 

So far was the Emperor from showing any displeasure 
at this remark, made with great seriousness, that he smiled 
and said most amiably : " I quite agree with you — we will 
strike it out." 

In the important duties that M. Duruy was not long 
afterward called upon to assume, and in the discharge of 
which he was often violently opposed by the clerical and 
reactionary sections of French society, and by certain 
members of the Government also, he never failed to obtain 
the most cordial cooperation and support of the Emperor, 
who seemed to take great delight in silencing the enemies 
of his high-minded and liberal Minister by a single phrase 
■ — " Duruy est un honnete homme.'^ 

And the Emperor himself was un honnete homme also, 
when he said, " I quite agree with you." It is well 
known to those who were intimate with Napoleon III. that 
the coup d'Etat of the 2d of December was an act for 
which he had no admiration, and to which he never re- 
ferred except to excuse it. " My friends," he said, while 
living at Camden Place, " were often urging me to have 
some monument erected commemorative of this event; but 
notwithstanding that the coiqy d'Etat was afterward legal- 
ized by the votes of eight millions of Frenchmen, I refused 
to celebrate an action which, although in my opinion nec- 
essary, was nevertheless a violation of the law." 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 45 

The Emperor disliked to have any one beat about the 
bush in the endeavor to persuade or convince him. A 
straightforward, concise statement of the case without 
phrases was what he wanted. One day when I was with 

him, Dr. R , who was attending his uncle, Jerome, the 

ex-King of Westphalia, in some illness or other, came to 
report to him the condition of the patient. The Emperor, 
not wishing to have him come into the room, did not request 
him to do so, but asked him how his uncle was getting on. 
Standing by the open door, the Doctor described in learned 
language and ponderous technical terms, and at great 
length, the symptoms of the case and the condition of the 
patient. When he went away, the Emperor turned to 
me and said : "I suppose all that — means that my uncle 
has a bad cold. Why didn't he say so simply, without 
that long-drawn-out scientific dissertation? He wished, I 
suppose, to impress me with a sense of his importance." 

The Emperor was very tenacious of his opinions; but 
was an excellent listener to opinions not his own; he could 
even tolerate the talk of a dunce. Indeed, as has been very 
justly remarked, one of his most enviable characteristics 
was his patience with fools. 

In a letter written to his cousin. Prince Napoleon, in 
1849, he says : " I shall always strive to govern in the in- 
terest of the masses and not in those of a party. I honor 
the men who by their capacity and experience can give me 
good advice; I receive daily the most contradictory coun- 
sel; but I follow only the impulses of my reason and my 
heart." 

He disliked discussion; but if he seemed to have very 
little desire to convince others, he rarely abandoned an 
idea or a purpose were it once entertained. To his mother 
he was, when a child, the " gentle headstrong one " {le 
doux entete) — so rarely was he insistent, so firmly he held 
to his purpose. If obstacles stood in his path he could 
wait for the opportune moment, but never forgot to act 
5 



46 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

when the time came. It was very easy for him to give 
way; it was extremely hard for him to give up. 

His persistency of belief in his destiny, in spite of 
repeated and disastrous failure — his fixity of purpose, even 
to the details of administration — in a word, the unflinching 
tenacity with which he held to whatever was a matter of 
conviction with him, and which was perhaps the most dis- 
tinctive feature in the character of this very remarkable 
man, is strikingly illustrated by the following anecdote told 
by Sir Archibald Alison: 

** The Duke of N said to me in 1854: ' Several 

years ago, before the Revolution of 1848, I met Louis Na- 
poleon often at Brodick Castle in Arran. We frequently 
went out to shoot together. Neither cared much for the 
sport ; and we soon sat down on a heathery brow of Goat- 
fell and began to speak seriously. He always opened these 
conferences by discoursing on what he would do when 
Emperor of France. Among other things, he said he would 
obtain a grant from the Chamber to drain the marshes of 
the Bries, which, you know, once fully cultivated, became 
flooded when the inhabitants, who were chiefly Protestants, 
left the country on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. 
And what is very curious, I see in the newspapers of the 
day that he lias got a grant of two millions of francs from 
the Chamber, to begin the draining of these very marshes.' " 

The Emperor, while holding fast to what his judgment 
had approved was slow to form opinions. He wished to 
examine every side of the question under consideration; 
and he commonly took the time to do so. He was very fond 
of asking questions about subjects in which he took an 
interest, of any one who he supposed might be able to 
throw light upon them — even if it were only a side-light. 
This habit was doubtless, in part, a matter of tempera- 
ment, but it was a habit that was strengthened by having 
a practical end in view — he wished to form his own opin- 
ions; and, consequently, to see for himself what was to be 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 47 

seen, and in doing this he liked particularly to look into 
the dark corners of things. Indeed, in all matters of public 
concern he sought for information, when he could, at first 
hand, with a view of obtaining such a direct and personal 
knowledge of things as would enable him, should there be 
occasion, to check off, as it were, the more formal infor- 
mation that came to him through official sources, and thus 
more clearly understand its real value and significance. 
Credited by the world with being an absolute and respon- 
sible sovereign, he had no wish to be the slave of his own 
bureaucracy. 

I shall have occasion elsewhere to speak at length of 
my relations to the Emperor as a source of information 
concerning matters with which I was personally acquainted 
and about which I was supposed to be well qualified to 
speak. But the habit above mentioned may be illustrated 
by the following incident : 

In the winter of 1868-69, the Hon. Anson Burlingame 
came to Paris at the head of a special and very impor- 
tant Chinese Mission. Mr. Burlingame was a warm per- 
sonal friend of mine, and, from the moment of his arrival 
in the French capital, I saw him almost every day. Just 
before, or soon after, the Mission reached Europe, I spoke 
to his Majesty about it, saying that Mr. Burlingame was 
an old acquaintance and friend. ' ' Oh, ' ' said he, " I wish 
you would tell me who he is, and just what the object of 
this Mission is." " Sire," I replied, " I can tell you at 
once who Mr. Burlingame is — but I fear that I cannot tell 
you now, just what he hopes to accomplish here." " Very 
v.'ell," said his Majesty — " I wish then you would find out 
why this Mission has been created — what powers it has, 
what it has done, and what is wanted of us, and let me 
know. Put any facts you have to give me in writing — not 
at great length, but summarily." 

It will be easily understood that I had no difficulty 
in obtaining the information desired. And very soon after 



48 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

our conversation, I had the pleasure of communicating it 
to his Majesty in the form he had requested. 

When, subsequently, this Mission entered into official 
relations with the French Government, and its proposals 
became the subject of deliberations in the Imperial Coun- 
cil, his Majesty was thoroughly familiar with every aspect 
of the case. 

The accurate knowledge the Emperor occasionally ex- 
hibited about things he was presumed to be quite igno- 
rant of, was very remarkable and, sometimes, the cause of 
great astonishment to his Councilors. How he obtained 
his information was no secret to those who were acquainted 
with his habit of extracting information from those that 
possessed it and were cognizant of the care and the per- 
sistence with which he studied, quite by himself and for 
himself, every subject that concerned the welfare of the 
people or the prestige of the Empire. In matters of action, 
especially, he desired to have nothing left to chance, but 
to have what was done, done with consideration — the con- 
tingencies, so far as possible, foreseen and properly pro- 
vided for. 

His prudence, his extreme caution even, was one of 
the most remarkable traits of his character — ^the one, 
perhaps, with which the general public is least familiar; 
for if it was a trait that few could fail to observe, it was 
commonly and wrongly supposed to indicate hesitancy and 
indecision, rather than a clear sense of the unwisdom of 
acting without knowledge and without reflection. More- 
over his confidence in his destiny would seem to preclude 
the need of loiowledge or of caution in the execution of 
the work he aimed to accomplish. But Louis Napoleon's 
trust in " destiny," like Cromwell's " trust in God," in 
no way lessened the strength of his conviction that it was 
very important at the same time to " keep the powder 
dry " ; or the firmness of his belief in the assurance of 
a greater authority that — ** faith without works is dead." 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 49 

It may be safely said that he engaged in no serious 
undertaking without looking at it in all its aspects, and, 
if it was attended with risks and perils, without having 
weighed them carefully in his own mind. In consequence 
he was never taken unawares nor surprised by any event, 
and was thus morally able to accept and to bear all that 
fortune gave to him, whether of good or bad. 

I presume that many — perhaps most — of the persons 
who have read the historical account of Louis Napoleon's 
attempt to capture the garrison at Strasbourg, in 1836, 
or the story of his expedition to Boulogne, made four 
years later, were astonished at the audacity of the Prince, 
and at the apparent absence of any just appreciation on 
his part of the very probable consequences of these at- 
tempts. To some persons they have doubtless seemed to 
be the acts of a man who was mad. And they might be 
properly so characterized had they been determined by 
the facts and conditions then existing, as understood by 
the world at large. But no man was more sane or per- 
spicacious than he, when he made these attempts to over- 
throw the Government of Louis Philippe, single-handed — 
but in the name of his uncle. He then clearly perceived 
how profoundly the memory of Napoleon was cherished 
by the French people, and correctly estimated the feeble- 
ness of the monarchy, and the incomparable power of that 
sovereignty of which he was the living representative. A 
few years later the whole world saw that he had committed 
no error of judgment, but was right when he believed him- 
self to be strong enough to revive in France the system 
of Napoleon — an Imperial democracy — if he could but ob- 
tain a foothold in his country. He knew perfectly well 
that any endeavor to do this forcibly would be attended 
with great risks; and they were carefully counted, but 
calmly regarded. 

If he failed to accomplish his purpose at Strasbourg, 
and again at Boulogne, it was not because the scheme itself 



50 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

was not feasible, but because its success was made impos- 
sible, in each case, by the misunderstandings and blun- 
ders of those who were more directly responsible for its 
execution. 

These revolutionary attempts were certainly audacious. 
"What makes them still more remarkable is the clairvoyant 
judgment of the political situation in France that prompted 
them, and the cool deliberation with which they were 
planned or plotted. 

This same trait of character — his extreme cautiousness 
— could not be better illustrated than by an incident that 
occurred at the time of the Paris Exposition of 1867, and 

which was reported to me by my friend. Dr. C . " I 

had come, ' ' said he, ' ' one morning quite early to the pavil- 
ion containing the United States Sanitary Commission's ex- 
hibit. As there was no one in the building, and very few 
people were in the groimds at that hour, I took a cigar 
from my pocket, lighted it, and sat down to look over a 
morning paper. I had been seated but a moment, when 
I heard an unusual trampling of feet on the gravel walk 
near by, and on looking up to discover the cause of this 
commotion, I saw a gentleman approaching the open door 
of the pavilion, quite alone — but followed at a short dis- 
tance by two others, behind whom, a little farther away, 
a crowd of people had gathered. Recognizing instantly 
who my visitor was I hastily laid on a table that stood 
conveniently near me my freshly lighted cigar, and 
stepped forward to meet the Emperor. He greeted me 
with a pleasant smile, and addressing me in English, said : 
' Is this the collection of Dr. Evans? ' I told him that 
it was; and then he immediately began to ask me ques- 
tions about the objects near him. Passing on from one 
to another, we moved slowly around the room — he evi- 
dently quite interested in what he saw and heard, and I 
greatly delighted to have an opportunity to explain these 
things to so distinguished a visitor. Finally we came to the 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 51 

beautiful model of one of the United States Army post hos- 
pitals that stood upon a broad, wooden table covered with 
green cloth. I was quite proud of this model, and particu- 
larly invited the attention of his Majesty to it, and began 
to talk very enthusiastically about it and the great hospital 
it so admirably represented. But suddenly I stopped 
speaking, for I observed that his Majesty was not listening 
to me, nor even looking at the model. His eyes were fas- 
tened upon another object ; and then, to my astonishment, I 
saw him reach out his hand and with thumb and finger pick 
up the cigar I had just laid down, and place it, with the 
half -inch of white ashes still sticking to the end, on the 
hard, solid base of the model. 

" My confusion can be imagined when, after having 
thus disposed of the cause of offense, the Emperor turned 
to me, and with a quizzical expression on his face, and 
in the gentlest possible tone of voice, said: ' I think it 
would be safer there — don't you? You see the cloth on 
which it lay is inflammable, and so is the table under it. 
And if by chance they should take fire — as the pavilion 
is constructed wholly of light wood and cloth, and the 
buildings that are grouped around it are equally frail 
and combustible — it would be impossible to tell what a 
disaster might follow — n'est ce pas? ' 

'' Of course, I entirely agreed with his Majesty that it 
would be a calamity to have this splendid Exposition 
brought to an end in such a way. And he smiled again 
most complaisantly, evidently greatly amused at my ill- 
concealed embarrassment. 

" He had, however, given me a lesson, which I am sure 
I accepted at the time with due humility, and which I have 
never since forgotten — namely, be always mindful that 
a little spark may kindle a great flame, and act accord- 
ingly. 

** And when the Emperor had gone — ' No,' I said to my- 
self, * M, Thiers may launch his sarcasms and M. Emile de 



52 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Girardin may rave, but there will be no war between 
France and Prussia about this Luxembourg question. The 
man who is so far-seeing, so cautious, so apprehensive even 
of the consequences that might follow from what would 
seem to most men a trifle, is not likely to risk his throne 
over this miserable affair — if he can help it. And, as he 
has the power in his own hands, the peace of Europe will 
be preserved.' 

" And it was preserved." 

His cautiousness, his slowness, his hesitancy to come 
to a decision were in striking contrast with the boldness 
and swiftness with which he acted when he had finally 
decided upon the course to be taken, and felt that the op- 
portune moment had come. Having resolved to accomplish 
a purpose, to reach an object, he was prompt to move. 
Were the undertaking difficult or dangerous to execute, his 
activity was prodigious, his self-control extraordinary, and 
the reserve of energy upon which he drew apparently inex- 
haustible. Then it was that his nature seemed to be en- 
tirely transformed, and the man who was as tender-hearted 
as a woman in the presence of suffering, and who shrank 
from pain like a child, could act without feebleness and 
endure without a murmur. 

Absolutely fearless when the time for action came, but 
deliberate, cautious, and careful at every step that led to 
it — such was Napoleon III. 

He was always the complete master of his own thoughts 
and emotions. Generally grave and serious, he could not 
only be amused and join in the merriment of the hour, but 
could, on occasion, laugh as heartily as any one. He was 
quick to see the comic features of an incident or situation, 
and often greatly enjoyed a witticism, or an epigram. He 
was, however, himself too polite and too kind to be clever at 
the expense of the feelings of others. His unwillingness to 
give pain to others occasionally led him to show what was 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 53 

thought to be feebleness. But, as he was capable of acts 
requiring him to ignore the promptings of sentiment, so, 
too, when he felt called upon to say what he thought, no 
one could exceed him in the keenness of his sarcasm or 
the sharpness of his retort. For instance. Prince Napoleon 
having petulantly remarked to him that he had nothing 
of his uncle (the first Emperor) about him, he replied, 
" You are quite mistaken. I have his family." 

Or when, on a certain occasion, having been told that 
the Count de Chambord had said that in case he should 
come to the throne he intended to secure the services of 
all the clever people that Napoleon III. had gathered 
about him, he quickly retorted, ' ' Ah, indeed ! If he should 
secure the services of all the clever people who have gath- 
ered about me his reign would be a very short one." 

But his repartees were generally of the most amiable 
kind. What would disturb the equanimity of most men 
Avas to him only the occasion for a pleasantry. For exam- 
ple, a little rascal having driven his hoop against him while 
he was walking in the Bois de Boulogne, on being stopped 
by an aide-de-camp and told that it was the Emperor he had 
hit, answered back, ' ' I don 't care if it is, my father says he 
is a great scamp." One can imagine the amazement of 
those who heard the speech of this enfant terrible. " Who 
is your father? " he was at once asked. 

" No," said the Emperor, " I do not wish to know; and 
besides," laughing aloud, " it is forbidden in the Code to 
inquire who the father is. ' ' 

The instant reply on this occasion, " I do not wish to 
know, ' ' reveals like a flash of light the true character of the 
man behind the impertransible countenance the Emperor 
habitually wore. He never wished to know who his per- 
sonal enemies were or what they said about him. He fre- 
quently surprised and vexed his intimate friends by the 
kind things he said of men who had grossly abused him ; and 
astonished and annoyed them, perhaps, still more by the 



54 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

favors he was ready to accord to these men and the official 
positions he offered to them and actually placed them in. 

He possessed in an unusual degree the gift of making 
graceful little speeches on the spur of the moment, to meet 
a dilemma, to pay a compliment, or to protect a friend. 
At a ball given at the Tuileries a general, slipping upon the 
polished floor, was so unlucky as to fall at the Emperor's 
feet, pulling down with him his partner. The awkward- 
ness of the situation and the embarrassment and mortifica- 
tion of the officer can easily be imagined. ' ' Madame, ' ' said 
the Emperor, as he assisted the lady to rise, " this is the 

second time General has fallen in my presence; the 

first time was at Solf erino. ' ' 

The dignity and habitual reticence which caused him to 
be often spoken of as "a sphinx " by those who did not 
know him intimately, gave a special saliency to these im- 
promptu expressions of intelligent interest and kindly feel- 
ing. It is true they frequently were not comprehended by 
those who heard them for the very reason that they were 
so unexpected. 

He was always a refined gentleman in his dealings with 
men, whoever they might be. It is well known that in the 
Boulogne affair the Prince had the promised support of a 
number of persons of high rank. But when my friend, the 
late Henry Wikoft', on the death of one of them wrote to 
the Emperor, asking permission to mention his relations to 
this person at the time referred to, the Emperor in a letter 
written in answer to this request said : ' ' But it is my desire 
also that even the dead should not be named ; for that might 
be disagreeable to those who are still living. ' ' He preferred 
to have nothing said rather than to permit, perchance, the 
feelings of any one to be unnecessarily wounded. 

It having been reported to him that Jules Favre had 
made a number of false declarations for the purpose of 
concealing certain facts relating to his domestic life, and 
that, if the matter were brought before the courts, his most 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 55 

bitter and persistent opponent might be silenced forever — 
" Stop vour enquiries," said he; " to attempt to destroy 
the reputation of this man in such a way would be a de- 
testable thing." 

AVhen in the bitterness of his defeat — a prisoner — M. 
Guizot, in letters addressed to the London Times in the 
autumn of 1870, grossly misrepresented his opinions, con- 
duct, and responsibilities with regard to the war, the Em- 
press, justly indignant, sent a despatch to him at Wilhelms- 
hohe, in which she suggested that the answer should be 
the publication of certain correspondence between the Gui- 
zots and himself. The Emperor telegraphed back imme- 
diately : " I forbid you to mention a word of it. M. Guizot 
is an illustrious Frenchman. I have helped him. I do not 
confer favors in order that they may become arms against 
my enemies. Not a word." 

These were the sayings of a genuine man — of one of 
Plutarch's men — ^the greatness of whose character is to be 
measured not in the line of historical achievement but by 
the qualities of his soul. 

His good-nature was never ruffled by trifles; a casual 
mistal^e of no real moment — a delay, some failure of ac- 
complishment, the maladresse of an attendant or of a serv- 
ant — was rarely noticed. He had too keen a sense of the 
relative importance of things. On one occasion, while at 
dinner, an awkward waiter discharged a portion of the con- 
tents of a seltzer bottle in his face. The poor man was 
paralyzed with terror; but his Majesty merely remarked 
that the levers of syphons were often treacherous. I can- 
not remember, at this moment, any trifling inadvertence that 
really seemed to annoy him except the neglect of a person 
leaving his room, to close the door he had opened. But a 
failure of duty, an obvious carelessness or lack of order, 
even in the smallest matter, seldom if ever escaped his 
notice ; and he often directed the attention of the person at 
fault to the expediency of more painstaking. 



56 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Kings, and Presidents even, are apt to be troubled by 
the contentions and rivalries among those who surround 
them, and who are made jealous by every preferment or 
favor granted. The Imperial Court being a new establish- 
ment, was very often disturbed, as was to have been ex- 
pected, by the grumbling of unsatisfied ambitions, and the 
more or less malicious gossip, and the petty manifestations 
of spite that are seldom absent where the vanities of the 
world are on exhibition. But the grumblers and the gos- 
sips received no encouragement from Napoleon III. Scan- 
dals he would not tolerate. Contentions over personal 
matters annoyed him. He wished to have all those about 
him living together in harmony and fraternity. He was 
the peacemaker of the palace. I could give many in- 
stances within my knowledge in which he so acted. But 
none is so striking, so eminently characteristic of the 
man, as the one in which he appeared as a peacemaker 
at Sedan. 

After the raising of the white flag, the Emperor sent for 
Generals Ducrot and de Wimpfen, requesting them to meet 
him at the Sub-Prefecture. There these two Commanders- 
in-chief, immediately they met, regardless of the awful sit- 
uation — the dead and the dying lying around them on every 
side — and of the urgency of coming to a conclusion quickly 
and sanely, began to indulge in violent recriminations ; and 
each, disclaiming his own responsibility for the disaster, 
proceeded to place the blame upon the other. Both men 
were greatly excited and seemed ready to seize each other 
by the throat. The scene was pitiful in the extreme. Then 
it was that the Emperor, a sad witness of this wretched 
conflict — himself without a command, but upon whom all 
the responsibility had fallen — came forward to intervene, 
and soothe with conciliatory words the wounded pride or 
vanity of his generals. 

" We have all done our best, as best we understood it, 
and as we best could. Don't let us forget the duties we 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 57 

still owe to ourselves, to the army, to France, and to 
humanity. ' ' 

It is infinitely pathetic, this attitude of the defeated 
sovereign, his calmness, his forgetfulness of self, his con- 
cern for the peace of mind — for the amour propre even — of 
others; and above all the large way in which he sought to 
look at things when grief and sorrow were eating his heart 
away. 

The Emperor often seemed to be lost in abstraction, 
thinking about, or looking at, something afar off; and, ap- 
parently, paying no attention to the conversation or dis- 
cussion that was going on around him, when, to the great 
surprise of every one, a sudden, forcible remark, or a sharp 
criticism revealed the fact that he had been a most attentive 
listener. 

It has often been said that the imperturbability of the 
Emperor was a mask ' ' put on " ; that in fact he was exceed- 
ingly emotional and impulsive, but had schooled himself to 
conceal his feelings and dominate the strongest momentary 
inclination ; that even his slowness and hesitancy of speech, 
the habit of partly closing his eyes, and his appearance of 
detachment were mannerisms acquired, and not original and 
genuine characteristics. These statements, while perhaps 
not absolutely untrue, are fallacious and misleading. 

It is my belief that the phlegm of the Emperor was 
entirely natural — in brief that he was to the manner born. 
The subjection in which he was able to hold his emotions 
and feelings, if remarkable in degree, was certainly not 
unusual in kind. The dominance of the passions over the 
reflective faculties, so characteristic of youth and inexperi- 
ence, is commonly presumed to end when the natural proc- 
esses of mental development have been completed and the 
age of discretion has been reached. It is quite true that 
the Emperor possessed a mind always sensitive and emo- 
tional in a high degree — but it was a mind that in its ma- 



58 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE | 

turity was governed by a powerful will directed by intel- 
ligence, experience, and reason ; and it was to this same will 
also that he was indebted for his apparently inexhaustible 
powers of physical endurance. His habits of thinking — his 
abstraction — his reticence — his peculiarities of manner, all 
his distinctive personal traits of character were the prod- 
ucts or visible forms of his temperament — a temperament 
that was stamped upon every lineament of his face, and 
which it was as impossible for him to put off as it would 
have been to put on. 

That his imperturbability, and wonderful power of self- 
control, made it extremely difficult to divine his inmost 
thoughts is unquestionably true. But a ruler of men is 
under no obligation to confess himself to those around him, 
or to tell the world what he thinks about everything, how- 
ever curious everybody may be to discover it; and a man 
who is able to keep his opinion to himself is much more 
likely to owe this ability to the possession of a sound and 
well-disciplined mind, than to the use of a mask — a word 
that.connotes intentional deception and, consequently, weak- 
ness rather than a prudent and legitimate reserve. 

His mental and moral equipoise was perfect. When 
returning from Bordeaux, in 1852, he made his entry into 
Paris and was hailed as *' Augustus " by the enthusiastic 
people and as the " savior " of his country by the Munic- 
ipal Council, and the reestablishment of the Empire hav- 
ing been demanded, he knew that he was about to realize 
the supreme object of his ambition, not the slightest change 
in his deportment was visible to those who were nearest 
to him. And at Metz, when the news of the defeats of Mac- 
Mahon and Frossard fell at head-quarters like a thunder- 
bolt, to fill it with consternation and to destroy the self- 
possession of all about him, we are told that " his was the 
only cool head." 

The masterful composure of Napoleon III., in every sit- 
uation and circumstance, was no concealing mask to be put 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 59 

on and put off, but a quality of the mind that reveals very 
clearly the intellectual elevation, the moral force, and the 
commanding character of the man. 

In this connection, I may say that the usual expression 
on his face, when Prince-President, was one of absolute 
serenity. When Emperor, his features, although always 
perfectly composed, became more and more grave, giving 
to him the air of a man who was constantly thinking of 
great and serious things. After his days of grandeur and 
power, when an exile in his modest home at Chislehurst, his 
countenance wore the expression of a man at peace with 
himself, and his manner was that of the profound thinker 
who, notwithstanding a shade of sadness often noticeable in 
his features or his voice, still esteemed himself superior to 
the accidents of fortune. 

Although he seemed phlegmatic and hesitating, and 
uncertain in his ordinary conversation, and to possess a 
rather weak voice, when once aroused he no longer hesi- 
tated and his utterance was forcible. He expressed his 
thought with directness, and on occasion with eloquence. 
His addresses before official assemblies or on ceremonial oc- 
casions were pronounced or read by him with great effect. 
As a public speaker he had a remarkably good voice — 
smooth, flexible, sonorous, and full in volume — which he 
used with skill, and his enunciation was so distinct that no 
word was lost. He seldom made use of gestures but stood 
firmly on his feet, and in complete possession of himself. 
His speaking or reading left upon those who heard him an 
impression of power. Its vocal effect was very much like 
that produced by the reading of his great and implacable 
enemy — Victor Hugo. 

In religion, the Emperor was a Catholic, and was care- 
ful to comply with the formal observances of his Church. 
But he was a liberal Catholic — a Gallican and not an Ultra- 
montane — and looked with sympathy and favor on every 



60 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

historical religious confession. He advocated religious lib- 
erty everywhere, and gave directions that intolerance, in 
matters of religious opinion and worship, should not be 
permitted either in Prance or in the dependencies of the 
Empire. 

" Everywhere, indeed, where I can," he once said, *' I 
exert myself to enforce and propagate religious ideas — but 
not to please a party. ' ' 

In " Les Idees Napoleoniennes, " Prince Louis referring 
to his uncle says: " He reestablished religion, but without 
making the clergy a means of government." And one of 
the questions he imagines that Napoleon might ask, were he 
to return to France, was : ' ' Have you kept the clergy strict- 
ly within the limits of their religious duties, and away from 
political power? " 

It was because of these liberal views with respect to re- 
ligious confessions and the relations of the Church to the 
State, that the Emperor never ceased to be suspected of a 
lack of fidelity to the Papal authority, whether temporal 
or spiritual, and was often assailed with extreme violence 
by the militant representatives of the Roman Catholic 
Church. Every one knows how abhorrent to M. Louis Veu- 
illot and his friends was the effective work of the Emperor 
in behalf of the kingdom of Italy; but perhaps few now 
remember that his equally successful effort at home to keep 
the educational institutions of France free from the mildew 
of clericalism was equally productive of angry protest on 
the part of the ultra-Catholic party. 

But while he continued scrupulously to observe the 
terms of the convention that established the relations 
between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities in France, 
he must frequently have been reminded of the admission of 
his uncle, who, in enumerating the mistakes he had made, 
said : ' ' Mais le Concordat est la plus grande faute de 
ma vie. ' ' 

In fact, the hostility of the reactionary wing of the 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 61 

French Catholic Church to the policy of Napoleon III., con- 
tributed directly and powerfully to the overthrow of the 
Second Empire. And this was finally accomplished when 
the French Democracy, under the political leadership of 
Delescluze and Leon Gambetta, effected a junction with 
French clericalism, under the military leadership of Gen- 
eral Trochu.* 

I think, however, that the Emperor was more inclined 
to look upon the Church as an important — a necessary — 
social institution, than to regard it as the keeper of the 
keys of heaven. And yet he was a firm believer in the 
Kingdom of God. His fatalism was not a blind determin- 
ism, but a religious faith. It had its origin in a deep and 
abiding conviction that every man is an instrument in the 
hands of God for a purpose ; and he was fully persuaded 
that he himself — like Csesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon — had 
been providentially chosen to fulfil a mission, and that every 
act and every event of his life, every failure and every suc- 
cess, was a necessary and inevitable part of it. 

The strong and almost mystical belief that he had a 
mission and that it would be accomplished to the end, in 

* The depth of the dislike of the Emperor, on the part of the reac- 
tionary elements of the Roman Church, is even less manifest in the 
bitter attacks openly directed against the measures and the policy of 
the Imperial Government than in the insidious and persistent efforts 
of the militant champions of the Papacy to teach the people that 
Napoleon III. was an enemy of the Church. And it is particularly 
through the schools and among the young that they have thus endeav- 
ored to prejudice public opinion. For example: In the last edition 
of the "Histoire de France k I'usage de la jeunesse," revised and com- 
pleted by M. I'Abbe Courval, superior of the seminary of S6ez, Paris, 
1873, Napoleon III. is spoken of as follows: "The Emperor, while 
pretending that he wished to preserve the temporal power of the Holy 
See, permitted the Pope to be despoiled of his States by piecemeal; 
while France, the eldest daughter of the Church, stood by with arms in 
her hands, for more than ten years a witness of the consummation of 
this iniquitous sacrilege. Nor was it long before he received his 
chastisement"; and so forth. — Op. cit., vol ii, p. 387. 
6 



62 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

spite of any human agency, was never more strikingly man- 
ifested than when, after the failure of the attempt to as- 
sassinate him made by Pianori — ^who on the 28th of April, 
1855, discharged a revolver twice, almost in his face — the 
Senate came to the Tuileries in a body to congratulate him 
on his providential escape. " I thank you," said the Em- 
peror, '' but I do not fear in the least the attempts of as- 
sassins. There are beings who are the instruments of the 
decrees of Providence. So long as I shall not have ac- 
complished my mission, I incur no danger. ' ' And he spoke 
then as he always spoke when expressing this belief, quietly 
and with no show of that tremendous sense of his own 
importance in the economy of the universe which char- 
acterizes most men who fancy they have a mission in the 
world. 

I never had any reason to suppose that the Emperor 
could with justice be charged with vanity. At least he 
was free from that kind which, he himself often admitted, 
was the characteristic French foible ; for his vanities were 
impersonal, and had a purpose. But he was proud, very 
proud. He knew that he was a Bonaparte. His reverence 
for his famous uncle had in it something more than respect 
for the prodigious genius of the man; he felt that he was 
the heir, and the legitimate and sole heir, to all he possessed ; 
that in him had been incarnated the spirit of Napoleon; 
and that it was not only his business and his duty, but that 
he had been born under Providence, to be the propagator of 
the ideas of his uncle, and the reconstructor and continua- 
tor of his work. 

His foster-sister, Madam Cornu, used to relate a little 
incident that shows how early he became imbued with the 
Napoleonic legend. 

Having remarked that Louis when a child was of a most 
amiable and generous disposition, she went on to say that 
one day, when they were playing together — he being about 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 63 

ten or twelve years old — he spoke of the great Emperor, 
and told her what he was going to do when he grew up to 
be a man ; and that when she laughed at something he had 
said, he did not seem to take offense, and soon after invited 
her very pleasantly to walk with him towards the foot of 
the garden, but that on turning into a side-path, where they 
were out of sight, he suddenly seized her arm with both 
hands and, with an expression of intense anger on his face, 
cried out, ' ' Hortense, if you don 't take that back I '11 break 
your arm." 

If he never forgot a kindness, he never forgot an injury, 
and was as sensitive as a woman to a personal offense. 
When, on the reestablishment of the Imperial dynasty, the 
Emperor Nicholas declined, in acknowledging the an- 
nouncement of this event, to address him as " Mon frere," 
according to diplomatic usage, but used instead the words 
" Mo7i ami/' the Emperor was cut to the quick. It is 
true he is said to have taken the affront very calmly, and 
to have been moved only to remark that ' ' Heaven gives iis 
our brothers, but we can choose our friends." However 
this may be, I am quite sure that at the time he regarded 
the form of address chosen by the Russian Emperor as an 
intended indignity to be dealt with only and properly by 
a prompt suspension of diplomatic relations. He finally 
accepted the Russian letter ; but I am inclined to think that 
he never forgot the form of address nor forgave it — 
although too proud to acknowledge that he thought it 
worthy of notice. It has been said that had the Czar, on 
this occasion, addressed the Emperor as " Mon frere," 
there would have been no Crimean war; and it is equally 
probable that the remembrance of the reluctant and con- 
ditional recognition of the Imperial title — ' ' Napoleon III. ' ' 
on the part of Austria and Prussia, may have strongly pre- 
disposed the Emperor to the v/ars he subsequently waged 
with these two Powers. 

In 1859, not long before war was declared against Aus- 



64 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

tria, the Emperor wrote to Walewski, his Minister for For- 
eign Affairs : ' ' Strong as is my love for everything that is 
great and noble, I would tread under my feet reason itself, 
were reason to wear the garb of pusillanimity. Although 
I may say the contrary, I have deeply graven upon my 
heart the tortures of St. Helena and the disaster of Water- 
loo, It is now thirty years that these memories have been 
gnawing at my heart. They have caused me to face with- 
out regret death and captivity. They would cause me to 
confront something greater yet — ^the future of my coun- 
try." What a self-characterization! How suggestive of 
what was to come ! 

But it was his pride that enabled him to support with 
such sovereign dignity all the humiliations that befell him 
after the destruction of his armies and the loss of his throne. 
Whatever weakness he may have shown as Emperor, as a 
dethroned monarch his conduct was irreproachable. His 
real greatness and magnanimity, his elevation of mind and 
moral courage, were made evident by what he did and said 
at Sedan, and when a prisoner; but still more not only 
then, but afterward when in exile, by what he did not do 
and did not say. He accepted his responsibilities fully. 
He made no attempt to lay the blame on others for the dis- 
asters that followed each other with such frightful rapidity, 
from the opening of the war to the capitulation at Sedan. 
He never excused himself, although ready to excuse his gen- 
erals and his political advisers. 

If the ambition of Napoleon III. was equal to that of 
the first Napoleon, it was less personal and more scrupulous • 
he sought nothing for himself alone, and to him the most 
glorious victories were the victories of peace; but his 
pride was greater and more noble. If ambition led 
to the downfall of the first Napoleon, pride may have been 
the cause of his own downfall ; but it also finally preserved 
him from railing against both men and fate, after the man- 
ner of his uncle ; and, by enabling him to live with honor and 



CHARACTER OF THE EMPEROR 65 

to die with dignity, it has secured to him the sympathy of 
the world. Unmoved by calumny, silent under criticism, 
the serenity — the superb stoicism — with which Napoleon 
III. accepted his destiny makes him one of the most remark- 
able characters in history. 

The story of his life moves along from the beginning to 
its very end with the perfect unity of action of a Greek 
tragedy. 

" Nature prepared him for the part he was to take," 
says M. Granier de Cassagnac, " by endowing him with 
qualities that are the opposites of our faults: we seldom 
listen, he listened attentively; we rarely reflect, he was 
meditating incessantly ; we get angry with men and with 
things; he was gentle in his dealings with persons and 
events. Such a character was beneath neither the gran- 
deur nor the perils of the situation, for he joined to the 
power that at a glance takes the measure of obstacles, the 
courage that encounters them and the patience that wears 
them down." 

If the career of Napoleon III. was extraordinary, no less 
extraordinary were the qualities of head and heart with 
which Nature had endowed him. 



CHAPTER III 

THE MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 

Louis Napoleon is advised to marry — The Princess Caroline — ^The 
Duchess of Hamilton — Ancient and modern Knights — The Duke 
of Hamilton — A great surprise — Eugenie de Montijo; her char- 
acter, her person — The Emperor announces his engagement — How 
the announcement was received — The marriage ceremony — My 
first visit to the Empress at the Tuileries — A little incident — 
The Empress does not forget her old friends — Pepa — The char- 
acter of Eugenie de Montijo unchanged by her elevation to a 
throne — Criticism — ^The fortune of the Imperial family — ^The de- 
mands upon the privy purse — The generosity of the Empress — 
Her first act after her engagement — Her visits to the cholera 
hospitals — "Pious but not bigoted" — Her public liberalities — 
The house parties at Compiegne — The Empress a lover of the things 
of the mind — ^The Suez Canal — ^The character of the Empress 
described by the Emperor — The Empress not exempt from the 
defects of her qualities. 

jERY soon after the coup d'Etat the friends of 
the Prince, as well as the Government officials, 
began to urge for reasons of State the impor- 
tance and even the necessity of his marriage. 
M. Thayer, the husband of the daughter of General Ber- 
trand, the companion of Napoleon at St. Helena, said to me 
one day, ' ' I have just seen the Prince and told him he must 
now get married, have a family, and found a dynasty in 
order to continue and perpetuate the name of Napoleon. 
I told him that he should do this as soon as possible." 
Then he went on to say that the Prince, pulling at his 
mustache, as was his habit, replied: " I will marry; but 
as for founding a dynasty, that I cannot promise." 
66 




MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 67 

It was not without a struggle that the Prince consented 
to break away from old attachments that had been sealed 
by personal sacrifices and magnanimous acts in his behalf; 
nor was it easy for him to come to a determination which 
involved a complete change in his habits of living. He 
yielded, however, to the counsel of his friends. 

The question now was, whom should he marry ? And it 
was one that interested a great many persons, each of whom 
had some Royal or Imperial princess to propose. What 
intrigues there were to find a wife for the Prince, planned 
by people who wished to closely connect themselves with 
the Court of the future ! 

But of all these proposed matches there was only one 
that for a time seemed probable. The Duchess of Hamil- 
ton — who was the daughter of Stephanie (Beauharnais), 
the Grand Duchess of Baden, and a cousin of Louis Napo- 
leon, and consequently in a position to speak to him very 
frankly — advised him to marry a Royal princess, and 
commended to him her niece, Caroline, the daughter of 
Prince Vasa, son of GustaviLS IV., King of Sweden. Prince 
Vasa was then in exile — a Field-Marshal in the service of 
the Emperor of Austria. He was without fortune ; but his 
daughter had been brought up at Carlsruhe and Baden- 
Baden, and it had long been the wish of the old Duchess 
Stephanie to make a great marriage for this favorite grand- 
daughter. With this idea she had canvased the chances 
of making her the wife of most of the hereditary princes 
of Europe. 

The attention of Prince Louis was therefore turned to 
the eligibility of this Princess, and the great advantage it 
would be to him to be allied to so many powerful Royal 
families, both German and Swedish, Catholic and Protes- 
tant. It was considered that such an alliance would greatly 
strengthen his position. The Princess herself was all that 
could be desired, suitable in age, charming in personal ap- 
pearance, intelligent, and educated in a superior manner. 



68 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Such was the match proposed to him by his family, or by 
one relative to whom he was greatly attached, since he and 
the Princess Mary had spent much time together in their 
early days, both in Germany and elsewhere. 

The intimate relations of these two cousins, and the 
natural gallantry and romantic temperament of the Prince 
are shown in a very striking and interesting manner in the 
following incident: 

One day Prince Louis Napoleon, while on a visit to the 
Grand Duchess, was walking on the banks of the Rhine 
with this cousin and her sisters Louise and Josephine, when 
the conversation turned upon the gallantry of men in for- 
mer times. The Princess Mary extolled in the strongest 
terms the chivalry of those days when the knight took for 
his motto, *' God, my King, and my Lady," and insisted 
that men had sadly degenerated in modern times. The 
Prince denied this, and asserted that in all times knightly 
devotion was never wanting towards a lady who was 
worthy of inspiring it, and that the French, at least, had 
not degenerated, but were as brave and chivalric as their 
ancestors. 

Just then a gust of wind blew from the hat of his 
cousin, Princess Louise, a flower, which fell into the river. 

" There! " said the Princess Mary, as the flower 
drifted off into the stream, " what a chance for a knight 
of the olden time to show his courage and devotion ! ' ' 

" Ah! " said the Prince, " is that a challenge? Well, 
I accept it " — and, before a word could be spoken, he 
plunged into the water, dressed as he was. One can easily 
imagine the consternation and alarm of the young ladies. 
But if the Prince yielded to an audacious caprice, he knew 
the measure of his strength ; and he swam out boldly into 
the stream until he reached the flower, when, having seized 
it, he turned towards the shore and breasted the current that 
beat against him, and threatened for a moment to sweep 
him into the rapids below. With a few strong strokes he 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 69 

extricated himself from the suction of the rapidly moving 
water and gained a foothold. Clambering up the bank, 
dripping and somewhat out of breath, he walked up to his 
cousin Mary, and with a polite bow addressing her, said: 
' ' I have proved to you the sincerity of my belief. Here is 
the flower, my fair cousin, but," with a shiver, for it was 
in the winter that this happened, " for Heaven's sake I beg 
of you henceforth to forget your ancient knights. ' ' 

Two years after this adventure the Princess Louise mar- 
ried Gustavus Vasa, and the Princess Caroline was her 
daughter; and Josephine who married Antoine, Prince of 
Hohenzollern, was the mother of Prince Leopold, who by 
a strange fatality, as the instrument of Bismarck, finally 
brought about the downfall of Napoleon III., his mother's 
cousin, and the destruction of the Second Empire.* 

I can, without indiscretion or a breach of confidence, say 
that a marriage would have been the consequence of the 
deep attachment existing between these two young people 
had not the ambitious mother of the Princess positively 
prohibited the match. I have been assured of her saying 
that she doubted if Louis would ever be in a position worthy 
of her daughter Mary. The old duchess had always been 
kind to the Prince ; she was sincerely fond of him, and often 
invited him to see her; but it was not her wish that he 
should marry her daughter — his uncertain future being an 
insuperable obstacle. She was eager for money, as the 
family had not much themselves; hence Mary's subsequent 
marriage with the Duke of Hamilton, who was not royal, 
but rich and powerful in his own country. 

By way of parenthesis, I may mention here the singular 
fact that, when the Duke of Hamilton, years afterward, had 
the misfortune to fall down the entire flight of stairs at the 
Maison Doree in Paris, striking his head on each step as he 
fell, and was carried to the Hotel Bristol in a terrible state, 
it was the Empress Eugenie who visited him, sitting by his 
* See Appendix I. 



70 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

side, doing all she could for him, and nursing him like a 
sister. Indeed, she took care of him until his death, for 
the duchess only arrived at Paris some days after the acci- 
dent. Happily, she came soon enough to see the duke in 
a lucid moment, in which he entreated her forgiveness for 
his many shortcomings; and it was well that he did so, 
since there was a great deal for her to forgive, which she 
willingly did. 

In these painful circumstances the Empress was admir- 
able. She left everything at the Tuileries to attend to the 
duke. 

So then it was the Princess Mary, Duchess of Hamilton, 
his cousin, who proposed the Princess of Vasa as the future 
Empress. 

Prince Louis knew that I had seen much of this Prin- 
cess ; for I was often at the Court at Carlsruhe, being rather 
a favorite of the Regent, Frederick William, whom I knew, 
as well as the Princess Louise, before their marriage — ^the 
latter especially as a girl at the Anlagen-Schloss near Cob- 
lentz, where the then Prince of Prussia and his wife, the 
Princess Augusta, spent a considerable part of each year 
with their daughter, Louise, and their son, Frederick — 
afterward the Grand Duchess Louise, and the Emperor, 
Frederick the Noble. 

It is therefore, perhaps, not remarkable that he should 
have questioned me about the Princess, and asked my opin- 
ion of her suitability as a wife for him. He had heard 
much ; but he was not a man to be deceived by profuse rec- 
ommendations and praises, and he wanted my opinion on 
some points — an opinion which he knew he would get from 
me honestly and specifically. Even then the Prince showed 
the honorable qualities of his finer nature. He did not 
wish to be deceived upon a most important question — what 
were the real feelings of the Princess herself on the subject 
of marrying him ? He knew he was much older than she, 



I 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 71 

and had been educated differently, and that perhaps her 
feeling was only one of passive acquiescence in her aunt's 
and mother's scheme. So to me he entrusted the task of 
finding out the real sentiments of the lady towards him; 
as also something more of her education, temperament, 
health, and so forth. 

I accordingly went to Carlsruhe, and there had a long 
conversation with the Princess, and more especially with 
Madame E. Steinberg, her principal lady-in-waiting and 
*' gouvernante.^^ I was convinced from what was said to 
me that the Princess was delighted at the thought of this 
marriage, and I found that she had thoroughly acquainted 
herself with the life and character of the man she had de- 
cided to marry — for decided she was. 

I was, therefore, scarcely surprised when, upon bidding 
me good-by, she said with a smile, " Au revoir. A Paris." 
She evidently considered the question settled. And, as I 
knew of no personal disqualifications, I naturally thought 
so also. On my return to Paris, I reported to the Prince 
all that had occurred. 

He now proposed to pay a visit to Baden-Baden to see 
the Princess and, in person, ask her hand in marriage. The 
time for the visit was fixed ; and a few days later the Prince 
left Paris, stopping at Strasbourg. From there he went 
to Baden-Baden and met the Grand Duchess Stephanie and 
her daughters, and also the Princess Caroline. The mar- 
riage was considered by the Prince himself to be no longer 
in doubt, although, at this time, no formal offer had 
been made on either side. This was to follow upon the 
return of the Prince to Paris, after certain questions in 
regard to settlements and other necessary matters had been 
arranged. 

All was progressing favorably, when a great surprise 
took place. AVord came from the Grand Duchess Stephanie 
that she had reconsidered the matter of the marriage of her 
granddaughter, and that the hand of Princess Caroline had 



72 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

been promised to Prince Albert, who was the heir to the 
throne of Saxony. 

What was the cause of this sudden volte- face? The 
excuse given was a previous engagement more or less defi- 
nite. The motive was political, no doubt. It was certainly 
an afterthought, dictated in response to German wishes. 
It is generally believed that the opposition to the marriage 
came from Austria. The father of the Princess was not 
opposed to it; but, having sought the consent of the Aus- 
trian Court to which he was attached, it is reported that 
Francis Joseph gave him to understand that, remembering 
the fate of two Austrian archduchesses, Marie Antoinette 
and Marie Louise, he was not disposed to approve of a 
marriage with a French prince. 

The rupture of these matrimonial negotiations was a 
cause of humiliation both to the Prince and the Princess, 
since matters had advanced so far. But the Prince ac- 
cepted the situation without a word of complaint, and 
seemed to feel that he, after all, had been fortunate, and 
had escaped " embarrassing alliances," as he called them. 
Believing implicitly in his destiny, he did not permit what 
some would term an insult to disturb him. 

" If," said he, " the royal families of Europe do not 
want me among them, it is better for me. It certainly is 
hardly consistent for us Napoleons who are of plebeian 
origin, to seek alliances with families whose distinctions 
come to them by Divine right. ' ' 

So ended the dream of the excellent Princess Mary, 
Duchess of Hamilton, and others, among whom was my 
friend, Madame Thayer. But I do not think that the 
Prince was seriously disappointed. Princess Caroline had 
been, to a certain extent, imposed upon him. He had prom- 
ised to marry some one, and, having himself no one in view, 
she was the most eligible princess proposed to him. Time 
also pressed, for he was getting on in years — he was then 
forty- four years old. 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 73 

Once, however, started upon this marriage project, the 
one of convenance having failed, it proved to be a case of 
the premier' pas qui coute, for he was determined now to 
marry, and this time to choose his consort himself, without 
any regard to her being a princess born — as his uncle had 
done when he chose to marry the beautiful Vicomtesse de 
Beauharnais — the Prince's own grandmother, the Empress 
Josephine — the real Empress, not the Austrian. 

In the autumn of 1851, I made the acquaintance of a 
Spanish family consisting of three persons, a lady and two 
daughters. 

One of the daughters was remarkable, not only because 
of her great beauty but also on account of her vivacity and 
intelligence ; and those who knew her intimately still more 
admired the kindness of her heart, and her sympathy with 
all who were suffering or needy. 

The first proof which I had of this trait of her char- 
acter, was an act of charity towards some poor Spanish 
exiles who were living in the United States. She asked 
me to send to them, from time to time, small amounts of 
money, and presents of more or less value, which, as I 
have since ascertained, were taken from her economies. 
The manner in which she transmitted her gifts was so 
ingenuous and considerate, and her whole behavior was so 
free from ostentation, that I soon recognized Eugenie de 
JMontijo, Countess of Teba — this was the name of the 
young lady * — to be one of the few persons who give 
simply on account of the inclination of their heart, and 
who do not allow their left hand to know what their right 
hand does. 

* The name of the young lady was Marie Eugenie de Guzman, her 
father, the Count de Teba, having taken the title of Count de Montijo 
only on the death of an elder brother. The name entered in the pre- 
amble of her marriage certificate is Eug&iie Guzman, therefore the 
name Eugenie de Montijo is incorrect, although it has the sanction of 
French usage. See Appendix II. 



74 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

She was living at the time at No. 12 Place Vendome, not 
far from my office, and came to see me generally accom- 
panied by a friend, Madame Zifrey Casas, a lady of Ameri- 
can parentage who had married in Spain, or by her faith- 
ful attendant, Pepa. 

The many visits which I received from the young 
Countess, partly on account of her interest in her country- 
men across the Atlantic, and partly because she wished to 
obtain my professional advice and assistance, gave me a 
good opportunity to form an opinion of her character. 

Emotional, sympathetic, generous, quick to be moved by 
the impulse of the moment, thinking little of herself, she 
always seemed, during these early days of my acquaintance 
with her, to be most happy when she could render a service 
to others. 

One day, it happened that while the young lady was 
with other professional visitors in my waiting-room, there 
was also present a friend of the Prince-President of the 
French Republic. This gentleman being much pressed for 
time, the Countess of Teba, waiving her right of precedence, 
permitted to enter first into my private office, although 
she had been waiting much longer than he had; and the 
graceful manner in which this permission was given evi- 
dently made an impression upon him; for on entering my 
room he immediately inquired who the beautiful young 
lady was that had granted him the precedence. 

Not long after this the Countess of Teba and her mother, 
the Countess of Montijo, were among those who regularly 
received invitations to the Elysee Palace, where the Prince- 
President then resided ; and there the young Countess was 
greatly admired and attracted the attention of everybody. 

She possessed a singularly striking face, oval in contour, 
and remarkable for the purity of its lines ; a brilliant, light, 
clear complexion ; blue eyes, peculiarly soft and liquid, 
shielded by long lashes and, when in repose, cast slightly 
downward ; hair of a most beautiful golden chestnut color, 



( 



^ ^■^ : ^ vr^M^ '^, 




MADEMOISELLE EUGENIE-COMTESSE DE TEBA. 

From a photograph taken in 3852. 



( 

4 



I 



IVIARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 75 

a rather thin nose exquisitely molded, and a small deli- 
cate mouth that disclosed when she smiled teeth that were 
like pearls. Her figure was above the average height and 
almost perfect in its proportions — the waist round, and the 
neck and shoulders admirably formed — and, withal, she 
possessed great vivacity of expression and elegance in her 
movements, together with an indescribable charm of man- 
ner. Indeed, she was a woman of a very rare type physi- 
cally as well as morally ; one whose distinguishing qualities 
always seemed to me to reveal the existence of Irish rather 
than Scotch blood, notwithstanding the name of her mother's 
family — Kirkpatrick. But she was richly endowed, by in- 
heritance or otherwise, with the best qualities of more than 
one race ; and, if it was true that her beauty was blond and 
delicate from her Scotch ancestry, it was no less true that 
" her grace was all Spanish, and her wit all French." 

The Prince himself soon recognized the extraordinary 
personal and mental endowments, and the various excellent 
and characteristic traits of the Countess. It, therefore, is 
not to be wondered at that, when he came to the conclusion 
that marrying princesses was not his affair, he should have 
remembered the lady whom he had so often admired, or 
that he renewed the acquaintance purposely and more inti- 
mately in the autumn of 1852; and that it led, with the 
rapidity of romance, to an engagement of marriage which 
he, having in the meanwhile become Emperor, formally 
announced, January 22, 1853, in the throne room of the 
Tuileries, to the Senate, the Legislative Assembly, and the 
highest officials of his Government. 

The words which the Emperor used on this occasion, pre- 
sent in their true light the motives that led him to this 
union, and are a beautiful appreciation of the worthiness 
of his betrothed, who afterward proved so faithful to him 
as a wife, not only in the days of splendor when Fortune 
smiled upon the Imperial throne, but also in the hours of 
misfortune and exile that followed. 



76 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

* ' She whom I have chosen by preference, ' ' said the Em- 
peror, " is of high birth. French at heart by her educa- 
tion, and by the remembrance of the blood which her father 
shed for the cause of the Empire, she has, as a Spaniard, 
the advantage of having no relatives in France to whom 
she would be obliged to grant honors and dignities. En- 
dowed with every good quality of the mind, she will be an 
ornament to the throne, and in the hour of danger she will 
become one of its most courageous supporters. Catholic 
and pious, she will send to Heaven the same prayers as I 
for the welfare of France ; gracious and good, she will, as 
I firmly hope, revive the virtues of the Empress Josephine, 
whose place she is about to take. 

" I come here, then, gentlemen, to say to France: * I 
have preferred to have for a wife a woman whom I love 
and respect, rather than a woman unknown to me and with 
whom the advantages of an alliance would have been min- 
gled with sacrifices. Without showing disdain towards any 
one, I yield to my own inclinations, but after having con- 
sulted my reason and my convictions. In short, having 
placed independence, the qualities of the heart, and do- 
mestic happiness above dynastic prejudices and the designs 
of ambition, I shall not be less strong, since I shall be 
more free.' " 

As might have been expected, the announcement of 
this marriage came as a surprise to the French people. 
Nor was it at first received with entire satisfaction by 
those who, having rallied to the support of the new Gov- 
ernment, had hoped to see it strengthened by an alliance 
with the reigning families of Europe. This feeling of 
disappointment found expression in various ways that 
sometimes were not wanting in piquancy. 

One of the persons who had most urgently opposed the 
Emperor's marriage with Mademoiselle de Monti jo was 
M. Drouyn de Lhuys, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. On 
finding that his counsel had been entirely disregarded, he 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 77 

concluded to send in his resignation to the Emperor, but, 
before doing so, he called upon Mademoiselle de Montijo 
to pay her his respects officially. He had scarcely spoken 
when she said: 

' ' You will permit me to thank you, and very sincerely, 
for the advice you have given to the Emperor with respect 
to his marriage. Your advice to him was exactly the same 
as mine." 

'* The Emperor has betrayed me — I see," said the 
Minister. 

" No : the honorable recognition of your sincerity — 
the making me acquainted with the opinion of a devoted 
servant who has given utterance to my own sentiments — 
this is no betrayal. I told the Emperor, as you did, that 
the interests of his throne should be taken into considera- 
tion; but it is not for me to be his judge, whether he is 
right or wrong in believing that his interests can be recon- 
ciled with his sentiments." 

It is hardly necessary to add that M. Drouyn de Lhuys 
promptly reversed his opinion concerning Mademoiselle de 
Montijo, and retained his portfolio. 

A story also is told of a distinguished Senator, who, 
having been asked what he thought of the Emperor's 
declaration of his matrimonial intentions addressed to the 
representatives of the Government and the people, replied : 

* ' A fine speech — excellent ; but I prefer the sauce to 
the fish." 

It seems this remark was reported at the palace, greatly 
to the amusement of the parties principally concerned. 
Now it so happened that, at a dinner given at the Tuileries 
a few weeks later, this Senator was seated next to the 
Empress, who, observing that after having been helped 
to the turbot, he declined the sauce, said to him, smiling 
roguishly : 

" Monsieur, I thought it was the sauce you liked and 
not the fish." 
7 



78 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

With rare presence of mind the gentleman replied 
after a moment of hesitancy : " A mistake, madame, for 
which I am now trying to make amends." 

And so nearly all those persons who at first were 
inclined to manifest their disappointment or surprise, dis- 
covered they had made a mistake, the moment they enjoyed 
the privilege of meeting her Majesty, and were themselves 
fascinated by her beauty and wit, or felt the influence of 
the subtle charm that seemed to come from the very soul 
of the woman, and, like an ever-present atmosphere, invest 
her sweet and sympathetic personality. They were now 
ready to confess that the Emperor was right when he said 
to the great dignitaries of the Empire : ' ' You, gentlemen, 
when you come to know her, will be convinced that I have 
been inspired by Providence." 

The marriage of the Emperor had the sanction of 
public opinion and there was a touch of romance about 
it that made it pleasing to the people. While Lamartine, 
the shifty Republican, could hardly look with favor on the 
Imperial pair, Lamartine, the poet, gracefully acknowl- 
edged that the Emperor had by this marriage made real 
the most beautiful dream a man can have — ^that he had 
raised up the woman he loved and had set her above all 
other women. 

On the 30th of January, 1853, I saw the marriage be- 
tween Napoleon III. and Mademoiselle Eugenie de Montijo 
celebrated in the old cathedral of Notre Dame with all the 
splendor and magnificence to which the monarch of a great 
nation and the consort of his choice were entitled. The 
ceremonial observed on this occasion was quite like that 
employed at the marriage of Napoleon and Josephine, but 
was even more elaborate and spectacular in its details. 
The gilded State carriage surmounted by the Imperial 
eagle and drawn by eight horses, in which the Emperor, 
in the uniform of a general of division, was seated by 
the side of his bride, was the one used by Napoleon and 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 79 

Josephine on the day of their coronation. The approaches 
to the Tuileries, the courts of the Louvre, and the streets 
leading to the cathedral were filled with an immense crowd 
of people whose enthusiasm was unbounded. It would be 
impossible to describe the profound impression produced 
when, after the passing of the main body of the cortege, 
the Imperial carriage was seen advancing, surrounded 
by the great officers of the army, and preceded and fol- 
lowed by squadrons of cavalry, and we heard the hum of 
voices — the half-suppressed exclamations of admiration — 
then a silence, followed by long-continued vivas — " vive 
I'Empereur " — " vive Eugenie " — " vive la France." 
Those who were fortunate enough, as I was, to catch, 
through the windows of the coach of glass and gold, a 
glimpse of the divinely beautiful bride who sat beside the 
Emperor like a captive fairy queen, her hair trimmed with 
orange blossoms, a diadem on her head, her corsage bril- 
liant with gems, wearing a necklace of pearls, and envel- 
oped in a cloud of lace — can never forget this radiant and 
yet shrinking figure. Radiant, she seemed to feel that 
Fortune had conferred upon her its supremest gift, and 
that she was about to realize the prediction once whispered 
in her ear by a Spanish gypsy Avoman, " the day will come 
when you shall be a Queen "; and yet shrinking, as if she 
feared that behind all this show of enthusiasm and splen- 
dor there was another world — a world of violence and of 
sorrow; that the things which were seen were an illusion 
and vanity, and that the things which were not seen were 
the eternal reality. Perhaps she was thinking of the young 
Austrian Princess whose marriage was also celebrated with 
the greatest pomp ; and of the day that followed — the 16th 
of October, 1793 — when the shouting of the people was 
heard by her for the last time; for Eugenie de Montijo 
even then had learned by heart this touching story of 
royal happiness and despair. 

In the cathedral, where the marriage ceremony took 



80 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

place, the columns and lofty vaults had been decorated 
with rich draperies, and banners, and banderoles; and 
palms, and garlands of white blossoms, and banks of flow- 
ers had been scattered everywhere — innumerable candles 
lighting up the whole of the vast interior, filled to its ut- 
most capacity by the great bodies of the State, the diplo- 
matic corps and the representatives of the Army, the Church 
and the cities of France, and by the elegance and beauty 
of the world of fashion. The scene was one of unparalleled 
magnificence. Nothing was wanting to invest the occasion 
with splendor and solemnity. On entering this ancient 
church and going forward to the altar, while a wedding 
march was played by an orchestra of five hundred musi- 
cians, the bride was quite overcome by her emotions. But 
when the archbishop said to her : ' ' Madame — you declare, 
recognize, and swear before God, and before the Holy 
Church, that you take now for your husband and legal 
spouse the Emperor Napoleon III., here present," she 
responded, in a clear, sweet voice, " Oui, Mo7isieur." 

If the elegance of her person evoked admiration on 
every side, the modest dignity with which she performed 
her part in this great and imposing ceremony secured 
to her the sympathy and good-will of all who witnessed it. 

After the ceremony was over the procession returned 
to the Tuileries in the same order in which it had left 
the palace, and the Emperor and the Empress, ascend- 
ing the steps of the ' ' Salle des Marechaux, ' ' came forward 
on the balcony, and saluted the assembled multitude, who 
returned with loud and repeated vivas this gracious rec- 
ognition on the part of their sovereigns. 

Napoleon, on the morning of his marriage, going into 
the dressing-room of Marie Louise, said as he placed with 
his own hands a crown upon her head: " The Empress 
will wear this crown. It is not beautiful, but it is unique, 
and I wish to attach it to my dynasty." On the 30th of 
January, 1853, Eugenie de Montijo entered the Tuileries 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 81 

— the Palace of Catherine de Medicis, of Marguerite de 
Navarre, of Marie Antoinette, of Josephine, of Marie 
Louise — in triumph, wearing upon her head the same Im- 
perial crown. And she was worthy of this honor; for 
from that day the Empress Eugenie ranked without ques- 
tion among the most admired and beloved sovereigns of 
the nineteenth century ; and, as if she were destined "to 
have over her predecessors a certain melancholy pre- 
eminence, her name is the last of the names of women, the 
wonderful story of whose lives has made the Palace of 
the Tuileries forever memorable in French history. 

A few days after Eugenie de Montijo — or, as I had 
always been accustomed to call her, the Countess of Teba — 
had been installed as Empress at the Tuileries, she sent 
word to me by Mademoiselle Pepa, her confidential maid — 
who afterward, by marriage with a subaltern officer, be- 
came Madame Pollet — that, having need of my profes- 
sional services, she wished me to come and see her at the 
Tuileries. 

Pepa informed me that her Majesty desired to see me 
personally. The Empress, as the Countess of Teba, had 
always been accustomed to come to my office and to take 
her turn with the others, and it was an innovation to 
ask me to go to her; so she was careful, in making this 
request, to have it appear that she considered she was 
asking a favor, or at least was paying me a special 
compliment. 

On entering her room, she received me most cordially 
and unaffectedly. We conversed about the great change 
in her position, and how it had come to pass ; and she told 
me many things that had taken place during the interval 
since I had seen her. 

I remember, when Pepa came into the room to speak 
with the Empress, how they both laughed as the poor, 
simple woman who had known the lady from childhood 



82 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

and had naturally been most familiar with her as a young 
girl, tried to say, " your Majesty." She could not get it 
out. She spoke French with a strong Spanish accent, and 
kept laughing as she tried to call her by her new title. 
It was most amusing, and the Empress saw it in a hu- 
morous light and enjoyed it greatly. But with time, Pepa 
and all of us fell into the way of giving to the Empress 
her title " your Majesty." 

As my illustrious and most interesting patient, although 
at the moment quite comfortable, had been suffering greatly 
and feared a repetition of the same trouble, and as she 
had important duties to attend to, and a reception in the 
evening, I remained at the Tuileries several hours in order 
to be sure that she should, if possible, be able to appear 
at the function, for which elaborate preparations had been 
made. We had, therefore, much time for conversation. 

While speaking of the Tuileries, the part which we were 
in being one that I had never before visited, the Empress 
called my attention to certain articles of furniture and 
precious objects, some of which had belonged to Marie An- 
toinette. She spoke of the Queen's sad fate, and of the 
souvenirs connected with the room we were sitting in, and 
about the historical associations of the old palace. Much 
of this conversation was to me particularly interesting. 
There was in it a vein of sadness or melancholy mingled 
with scarcely concealed surprise at her own position as 
sovereign mistress where so many great ladies had lived 
— to-day the favorites of fortune, to-morrow the unhappy 
victims of popular fury, some sent into exile and some 
to the scaffold. There was, however, no indication what- 
soever in her deportment of any feeling of vanity, or of 
pride at being elevated to the throne, and becoming the 
first lady in the land. In all this there was a charm, a 
simplicity of soul which I saw again in troublous times, 
in the terrible days of 1870, when hastening with her from 
that France where, for upwards of seventeen years, her 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 83 

goodness, and her beauty, and distinction had held the 
world at her feet. 

A little incident took place on this day which revealed 
to me the strong and romantic attachment of the Emperor 
to his lovely wife. It was the first day since her marriage 
on which she had suffered acute pain, and the Emperor 
expressed the greatest sympathy for her, and was most at- 
tentive — coming up-stairs from his cabinet several times 
to inquire how she was feeling. Just before I left the 
palace, very happy to know that my charming patient was 
no longer suffering, the Emperor entered the room again, 
with a box in his hand, and, approaching the Empress, 
took from it a magnificent string of pearls, which he 
placed around her neck. 

Some time before, M. Charles Thelin had told me that 
the Emperor possessed a remarkable collection of pearls, 
which he had selected one by one, intending to make with 
them a necklace for the Empress. Touched by a feeling 
of love and compassion, his Majesty had been unable to 
keep his secret from her any longer. 

Eugenie de Montijo was not so dazzled by the splendor 
of her new position as to forget the companions of her 
earlier and more simple life. She invited them to come 
to see her. Some of them became her " dames du Palais." 
She wished all of them to speak to her familiarly, as they 
used to do. Her friendly advances towards them were not 
to relieve ennui, or to fill up a void created in her life by 
the formalities of the palace. She now had the power 
to help them and to honor them — and this she loved to do. 
I may remark here that this kind consideration — this fond- 
ness for her friends — was a sentiment that had its origin 
in an affection which once having been felt was sincere 
and constant, and endured through good report and evil 
report to the end. 

I have never known a woman that had such reason to 



84 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

distrust the sincerity of some of the persons in her imme- 
diate entourage, who was so full of faith in the good in- 
tentions, and so abounding in charity towards the short- 
comings, of all who claimed to be her friends. If she 
could not say something in praise of them she preferred 
to remain silent, unless their conduct was made a subject 
of criticism by others, when she was pretty sure to come 
to their defense, and sometimes with a warmth of feeling 
that was surprising. 

Perhaps the explanation of this trait of character is 
to be found in her inability to forget a kindness. 

When reproached one day for keeping up her inter- 
course with certain ladies — the Delessarts — who were well 
known for their Orleanist sympathies, her reply was: 
" They were very kind to me before my marriage, and 
I never forget my old friends." Indeed, I do not believe 
there is a single person now living that has ever rendered 
her Majesty a notable service who has not heard her say 
— and more than once — * * I never can forget what you have 
done for me." 

The attachment of the Empress to her old friends and 
the associates of her earlier days, is strikingly illustrated 
by her relations with, and the consideration which she 
always had for, her principal lady's maid, Madame Pollet. 
** Pepa," as she was familiarly called, was the daughter 
of a Carlist general; but when very young she entered 
into the personal service of the Countess of Teba. Her 
devotion to her mistress was unbounded, and she soon ob- 
tained, as she deserved, her esteem and confidence in equal 
measure. "With her Majesty, Pepa went to the Tuileries, 
where she was entrusted with the general direction over 
a multitude of things connected with the domesticity of 
the palace, and became, in a way, a personage — at least 
to a certain circle. She was a little woman, not in good 
health, fretful, irritable, and timid. Her person, her 
manner, her accent, her devotion to her mistress, the fact 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 85 

that she was the direct intermediary between her Majesty 
and the tradesmen, and the very confidence reposed in 
her, in all her doings and dealings, exposed her constantly 
to ridicule and reproach. It is, therefore, not surprising 
that great injustice should have been done this faithful 
attendant and confidant of her Majesty by the personnel 
of the palace and the chroniclers of the doings of the 
Imperial Court. But the Empress knew her sterling 
qualities, her sincerity, and her integrity, and appreciated 
her accordingly. In fact, she never failed to defend with 
warmth her " poor Pepa " against every attack, from 
whatever quarter it might come. 

" Yes," said the Empress to me one day, " Pepa is 
timid; she starts at the rustling of a curtain, and turns 
pale at the moaning of the wind, and screams at the sight 
of a mouse, and is in a constant state of terror lest we 
should all be assassinated; but let her see or think that 
I am in any real danger — ah ! then she is no longer afraid, 
but has the courage of a little lioness." Pepa is long 
since dead; but she never in life was more devoted to her 
mistress than the Empress is still devoted to the memory 
of her very humble, but most sincere, friend and servant. 

Notwithstanding the great change in her rank, the 
Empress remained unchanged in her character; and un- 
changed also was the unaffected courtesy with which she 
received all who came into her presence. Nor did her 
kindness and love for everything that was true and noble 
grow less. I have seen her frequently during many years ; 
I have seen her surrounded by luxury and the pageantries 
of the most brilliant Court in Europe; I have witnessed 
her greatest triumphs, but I cannot recall one moment in 
which her demeanor towards others, no matter how humble 
their station in life, was different from that by which she 
attracted the sympathy of all those who knew her as a 
young lady. She always had the excellent good sense 
never to impose herself as Empress upon the persons 



86 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

whom she had known before her elevation to the throne; 
and yet she never forgot that she was no longer of that 
world to which she had once belonged. In a word, she 
possessed an instinctive appreciation of the requirements 
of her position, and so happily harmonized and combined 
her natural impulse to be herself with a sense of the re- 
serve and dignity becoming her exalted rank, that she won 
the praises of all. Queen Christine pronounced her de- 
portment admirable, and declared that she carried herself 
" neither too high nor too low." And the Queen of Eng- 
land was of the same opinion. At the time of the visit 
of their Imperial Majesties to London, in 1855, the Queen 
writes in her diary of the Empress as f ollow^s : ' ' She is 
full of courage and spirit, and yet so gentle, with such 
innocence and enjouement, that the ensemble is most 
charming. With all her great liveliness, she has the 
prettiest and most modest manner." And a day or two 
later, the Queen writes, " Her manner is the most perfect 
thing I have ever seen — so gentle, and graceful, and kind; 
and the courtesy so charming, and so modest and retiring 
withal." * 

And yet while she was so condescending and so 
courteous to all, and so easy of approach, who that ever 
saw the Empress on great ceremonial occasions will for- 
get the dignity as well as grace with which she responded 
to the salutations she received, or the grand manner of 
her carriage? The appearance of her Majesty on some 
of these occasions has doubtless suggested to the mind of 
more than one person the words used by Saint Simon 
when speaking of the Duchess of Burgundy :^^ Sa demarche 
etait celle d'une deesse sur les nuees/^ 

But it was the amiable and gentle manner of the 
Empress, the absence of every sign of superciliousness or 
of undue pride after her elevation to the throne, even 

* Life of the Prince Consort, by Theodore Martin, vol. iii. 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 87 

more than her extraordinary beauty and esprit, that dis- 
armed opposition, and won for her the admiration even 
of those who, jealous of her rare fortune, were at first 
most disposed to criticize her. And such criticism as she 
was subjected to ! How insignificant in reality it always 
was! Never a word that cast a reflection on her good- 
ness, her loyalty, or fidelity as a wife and mother! The 
foundation on which her character as Empress and woman 
rested was unassailable. But the anti-Imperialist gossips 
never grew weary of tattling about her love of personal 
display, of inventorying her dresses, and bonnets, and jew- 
els, and furs, and of hypocritically bemoaning the " luxe 
offrene " — ^the unbridled luxury — of the Court. Just as if 
it was not one of the principal functions of a sovereign 
in a country like France — the arhitre de la mode for the 
world — to set the fashions of the day, and to regulate the 
etiquette and ceremonials of the Court! 

And most eminently was she qualified to prescribe and 
govern the " form " at a Court brilliant and fond of 
display and originality to the verge of eccentricity. It 
was with the most exquisite tact and taste that she fixed 
the line where fashion stopped, and to pass beyond which 
would have been ridiculous. The heau monde everywhere 
accepted her decisions in these matters as ne plus ultra. 
From the day she entered the Tuileries, the Empress was 
the ruler of the world of fashion, and the supreme author- 
ity with her sex, in the four quarters of the globe, in all 
matters pertaining to the graces and elegancies of social 
life; and through her patronage the names of the coutu- 
rieres, and modistes, and florists of Paris became famous 
in every land. 

And yet most ladies who are at all prominent in our 
fin de siecle society, would probably be greatly surprised 
were I to tell them that the Empress, when one day at 
Parnborough reference was made to these particular 
critics and the alleged extravagance of her wardrobe, said 



88 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE I 

in my presence : ' ' How very ridiculous all this is. Well ! 
I suppose they think they must say something. Why ! with 
the exception of a few gowns made for special ceremonial 
occasions, (those which she used very happily to call ' mes 
robes politiques ') during the whole time I was at the 
Tuileries I never wore a dress that cost more than fifteen 
hundred francs, and most of my dresses were much less 
expensive. ' ' 

A writer who is no friend of the Empress has the 
grace to say, when speaking of her: " We live at a time 
when queens are exposed to public observation more than 
ever before, when they cannot put on a dress without hav- 
ing it described by fifty newspapers, when twenty articles 
are published every day about their fetes, their amuse- 
ments, their jewels, and their head-dresses. This publicity 
tends to lower queens in the estimation of the people, who 
no longer see anything but the frivolous side of their 
lives. ]^ 

" To support without concern, as also without haughti-* 
ness, the gaze of so many people who are constantly ex- 
amining you; to take, without having the appearance of 
it, one's part of the responsibility of governing, and the 
most dangerous, perhaps; to appear at the same time seri- 
ous and frivolous, a woman of the world and of the home, 
and religious without being a devotee; to dress without 
affectation; to discuss literature without pedantry, and 
politics without embarrassment; to read what a well- 
instructed woman should read; to say what a clever 
woman is expected to say ; to know how to speak to women 
and to men, to the young and to the old ; to be in a word 
always on the stage — this is the role of a queen." 

And certainly very few persons will be disposed to 
deny the truth and justice of this writer's conclusion that 
" Queen or Empress is a difificult trade in a country like 
France, and in a time like that in which we live ! " * 
* Taxil Delord, " Histoire du Second Empire," tome i, p. 518. 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 89 

Soon after the fall of the Empire, stories were put in 
circulation to the effect that the Imperial family had 
accumulated a large fortune, which they had been very 
careful to remove from France. It was alleged that al- 
ways uncertain as to the stability of a Government of 
adventure, they had with great discretion been " making 
hay while the sun shone," and had invested considerable 
sums in English consols, and, wonderful to relate, in 
New York real estate. The honor even was attributed to 
me of having advised the American investments, and also 
of having acted as the agent in these transactions. Not 
only were all these stories untrue, but, for those making 
me a party to the financial affairs of the Imperial family, 
there was never the slightest foundation.* 

The Emperor's generosity, his prodigality even, was 
notorious. The direct appeals to him for pecuniary as- 
sistance were constant, and he gave away immense sums 
to charities of every kind. The Empress was the Lady 

* Among the papers and correspondence of the Imperial family, 
found at the Tuileries, and published in 1870 by the Government of the 
National Defense, is a scrap containing a miscellaneous list of property 
amounting to nearly a million pounds sterling. It is without a heading 
or any indication of its origin or character. It is called, however, "a 
very precious document," and is assumed to be an inventory of the 
personal property of the Emperor, deposited at the Barings in 1866. 
It is still used to give credit to the stories referred to above. Among 
the items in the list is this one, namely, "Uniforms, £16,000." Why 
Napoleon III. should have had, in 1866, sixteen thousand pounds 
worth of uniforms stowed away in the bank of the Barings, in Lon- 
don, seems to have greatly puzzled the editors of the papers and 
correspondence referred to. Their conjectures are highly amusing. 
" Les fragments incomplets ramasses dans de vieux papier s," which 
formed a very large part of this correspondence have been officially 
discredited. (See "Enquete Parlementaire," 1872, p. 14.) In fact, as 
it was soon discovered that the Government could derive no political 
benefit from the publication of these papers, only one volume was 
published officially; and the papers, after having passed through the 
hands of the Republican authorities — excepting a few that went astray 
— were returned to the heirs of Napoleon III. See Appendix III. 



90 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Bountiful of the reign; but the Emperor delighted to aid 
her in her benevolent work and to make her the agent 
and dispenser of his own liberalities. The demands upon 
the privy purse were endless. Often it was drawn upon 
to supplement the lack of public funds. The account of 
the Imperial civil list, which has been published, shows 
that during his reign the Emperor distributed person- 
ally over ninety millions of francs in public and private 
benefactions. The last large sum of money he had in his 
possession, 1,000,000 francs, he ordered to be distributed 
among the troops that capitulated at Sedan — reserving 
absolutely nothing for his personal use. During his reign, 
he made no monetary provision for the future. When 
he left France, in September, 1870, his personal fortune 
was no greater than it was when he came to France 
twenty-two years before. He owned the chateau at Aren- 
enberg which brought him no income, and a little prop- 
erty in Italy, from which he derived a small revenue — all 
of which he had inherited. Had it not been for the pri- 
vate fortune of the Empress, the family would have then 
been at once reduced to very straitened circumstances. 

The Empress was the owner of some property in Spain, 
the Villa Eugenia at Biarritz, besides other real estate in 
France; some of which she subsequently generously gave 
to the French people. But a large part of the Empress' 
fortune consisted of jewels, most of which had been pre- 
sented to her at the time of her marriage, and some of 
which were of very great value — among them a magnifi- 
cent collection of pearls, and several large diamonds of 
extraordinary purity and brilliancy that originally be- 
longed to Marie Antoinette and formed a part of the 
famous " diamond necklace," the tragic story of which 
has been so powerfully told by Carlyle. These jewels were 
sold after their Majesties were settled in England, as was 
also the property at Biarritz, and the proceeds were in- 
vested in income-yielding securities. But, altogether, the 



i 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 91 

fortune of the Imperial family was not large, particularly 
in view of the claims of needy dependents and obligations 
of various kinds, which could neither be repudiated nor 
ignored. 

I may remark that very few of the persons prominently 
connected with the Second Empire appear to have ac- 
cumulated wealth; and that having lost their official posi- 
tions after the fall of the Imperial Government, great 
numbers of those who were advanced in life, were reduced 
to extreme indigence. When the attention of a French 
Republican is called to this fact — that money-making was 
not the business of the servants of the Empire — he shrugs 
his shoulders and cynically says : " I suppose they thought 
it was going to last forever." 

It is not difficult to understand how impossible it was 
to satisfy all those servitors who felt that they had a right 
to appeal to their late sovereigns for pecuniary assistance ; 
or to prevent in some cases the disagreeable consequences 
of a failure to respond to such appeals. 

But there was another class of solicitors far more 
difficult to deal with, men and women who were anxious 
to espouse the Imperialist cause — for money. It was im- 
possible to listen to these people, and their assistance was 
politely declined. But they went away carrying with 
them a bitter feeling of disappointment that subsequently 
found expression in petulant and vicious attacks, directed 
more particularly against the Empress, whose good sense 
in refusing to be exploited was attributed to parsimony 
and niggardliness. There were times when these personal 
attacks were absolutely heartless; when even the mourn- 
ing of a mother was made the pretext for the most cruel 
insinuations. These savage thrusts were keenly felt, but 
the wisdom and real greatness of character which the 
Empress possesses were never more conspicuously shown 
than in her ability to listen to these slanders in silence — 
and if in sorrow, in pity also. 



92 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Although misfortune finally dethroned the Empress 
Eugenie it was certainly not because she had proved 
unworthy of her high position. She, as well as her mag- 
nanimous husband, had to suffer on account of being too 
trustful and generous to others. They lost their Empire 
because they loved their people, believed them, and con- 
fided in them. History may judge the monarch and his 
companion in the Imperial dignity by the political events 
of their reign. It is the privilege, it is the duty, of the 
friend to judge the man and the woman, to judge their 
hearts. But if historical writings were free from errors 
of fact and were a philosophical record of the actions of 
men, stating correctly their motives and their material 
and moral limitations, and giving credit to whom credit 
was due, many of those persons who are condemned by 
public opinion would be admired and honored. 

Indeed, few women who have sat upon a throne have 
a larger claim to the love and esteem of their people, or 
have shown to the world a higher and more charming 
personal character than the noble consort of Napoleon III. 
The conduct of her whole life bears witness to this. 

The first act of the Countess of Teba after her engage- 
ment to the Emperor, like so many of her acts, was one 
of charity. The Municipal Council of Paris, desirous to 
show its devotion to the Emperor's bride, had voted a sum 
of 600,000 francs for the purpose of purchasing for her 
a set of diamonds. 

When the Countess heard of this she addressed to the 
Prefect of the Seine the following letter: 

' ' Monsieur le Pr6fet : I have been moved greatly 
by hearing of the generous decision which the Municipal 
Council of Paris has taken, and by which it manifests 
its sympathetic approval of the union which the Emperor 
is about to contract. Nevertheless, it would pain me to 
think that the first public document to which my name 



i 



MARRIAGE OF THE EIVIPEROR 93 

is attached at the moment of my marriage, should record 
a considerable expense for the city of Paris. 

" You will, therefore, please permit me to decline 
your gift, however flattering it is to me. You will make 
me happier by using for charitable purposes the sum that 
you have appropriated for the purchasing of the diamond 
set which the Municipal Council intended to present to me. 

*' I do not wish that my marriage should impose any 
new burden on the country to which I belong from this 
moment; and the only ambition I have is to share with 
the Emperor the love and esteem of the French people. 

" I beg you, M. le Prefet, to express to your Council 
my very sincere thanks, and to accept the assurance of 
my great esteem. 

" Eugenie, Comtesse de Teba. 

** Palais de l'Elysee, January 26f/t, 1853." 

In conformity with this wish of the bride of the Em- 
peror the sum voted by the City Council was used for the 
erection of an establishment in the Faubourg Saint Antoine, 
where young girls receive a professional education. This 
establishment was opened in the year 1857, and placed 
under the protection of her Majesty; in it were accommo- 
dations for 300 pupils. 

But not satisfied with declining the gift of the Paris 
Municipal Council and suggesting its use for charitable 
purposes, the Countess of Teba set the example she wished 
others to follow, by taking the 250,000 francs the Emperor 
had placed among her wedding presents, and sending them 
to be distributed among the poor. 

In order to be always informed of cases where help and 
assistance to the sick were especially needed, the Empress, 
during the whole period of her reign, was surrounded by 
a staff of persons whose business it was to inquire into the 
condition of the poor and suffering, and to report the result 
of their investigations to her personally. 



94 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Her Majesty not only generously disposed of her fortune 
in charitable work and gave assistance in special cases on 
the representation of others, but she went herself to visit 
the needy, even in the most remote quarters of her capital. 

Frequently, and especially in winter when the indigent 
suffer the most, the Empress left her palace incognito, 
accompanied by one faithful attendant only, to visit the 
dwellings where she had been informed there was destitu- 
tion and distress. On many occasions she ascended to the 
attics where the poor persons lived, not minding the fatigue, 
and sat down by the beds, without fearing contagion, to 
encourage the sick by her presence and with kind words. 

The courage and self-sacrifice she at times exhibited, 
when engaged in benevolent and charitable work, were con- 
spicuously shown during her memorable visits to the cholera 
hospitals in Paris and at Amiens. 

On October 23d, 1865, cholera was epidemic in the city 
of Paris, and the deaths had within a few days increased 
so rapidly, that a state of panic reigned among the in- 
habitants. Most of those who were able to do so had 
left, or were preparing to leave, the city, but the Empress 
Eugenie took this opportunity to give to her subjects an 
example of courage. It is well known that fear is a very 
effective agent in the propagation of disease. The Em- 
press, wishing to show that there was no good reason for 
fear, visited successively the cholera patients at the Beau- 
jon, Lariboisiere, and Saint Antoine hospitals. 

I may mention a little incident that occurred at this 
time. When visiting the Hospital of Saint Antoine, the 
Empress addressed a question to a patient ; the man, whose 
sight had become weak, on account of his being in a state 
of collapse and at the point of death, answered, " Yes, my 
sister. ' ' 

" My friend," said the Lady Superior of the hospital, 
" it is not I who speak to you, but the Empress." 

" Do not correct him, my good Mother," said her Maj- 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 95 

esty; " it is the most beautiful name he could have given 
to me." 

And when, on returning to the palace, one of her ladies- 
in-waiting, having learned where she had been, said : " I am 
sorry you did not ask me to go with you — if I am permitted 
to participate in your pleasures, I think it is only right 
that I should share your dangers," the Empress replied: 
" No, my dear; it was my duty as Empress to take this 
risk; but I should do very wrongly were I to request you, 
who are a mother and have other duties, to imperil your life 
unnecessarily." 

In the following year the cholera raged fearfully among 
the unfortunate inhabitants of Amiens, where the alarm 
was greater, if possible, than it had been in Paris. On the 
4th of July, upon the receipt of the news of the enormous 
number of deaths that had occurred there, the Empress left 
her capital, accompanied by the Countess de Lourmet and 
the Marquis de Piennes, and hastened to Amiens, where, 
immediately upon arriving, she drove to the Hotel Dieu. 
She visited all the wards of this hospital without excep- 
tion, stopping at the bed of every patient. Taking their 
hands, she spoke to them kindly, and perhaps saved the 
lives of many by thus reviving their hopes. As she was 
about to depart, two little children who had been made 
orphans by the epidemic were pointed out to her by M. Cor- 
nuau. When the Empress beheld them, she instantly said : 
" I adopt them. They shall be provided for." Many of 
the bystanders, at these words of her Majesty, were moved 
to tears. 

From the Hotel Dieu, the Empress drove to the City 
Hall, where she remained for a short time, and afterward 
visited the hospitals in the Rue de Noyon, kept by the 
Petites-ScEurs-des-Pauvres, the charitable institutions in 
the Quartier Saint-Leu, and in the Rue Gresset, and many 
other hospitals besides. And then she went to the great 
Cathedral — the noble and solemn magnificence of which so 



96 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

impressed Napoleon, that he exclaimed : ' ' An atheist would 
not feel at home here ! ' ' — to pray to God to deliver the good 
city of Amiens from the power of the scourge. 

In order to perpetuate the remembrance of this visit to 
Amiens, a painting representing the Empress at the bed of 
a cholera patient was placed in one of the halls of the 
museum of that city. The Municipal Council of Amiens 
has, however, lately ordered this painting to be taken away. 
But the visit of her Majesty, who came as an angel of pity 
in the hour of suffering, will long be remembered by the 
inhabitants of the ancient capital of Pieardy. 

Always faithful to her Church, and sedulously observ- 
ant of her religious obligations and duties, the Empress is 
absolutely free from any suspicion of sacerdotalism. 

As the Emperor himself said of her : ' ' She is pious but 
not bigoted. ' ' How could she ever have been bigoted, with 
Henri Beyle as the mentor of her youth, and Merimee the 
friend of her later years; both accomplished litterateurs 
and men of the world, but materialists both, and each capa- 
ble — if men ever were — of eating a priest for breakfast? 
Indeed, the society in which she passed her whole life from 
her earliest childhood, if not precisely latitudinarian, was 
one of great intellectual breadth, in which questions of 
every sort were discussed on every side and with the utmost 
freedom. 

"When M. Duruy proposed to open the University for 
" the higher education " of girls he brought down upon 
himself the wrath of the ultra-Catholic party, led by Du- 
panloup, the fiery Bishop of Orleans, and encouraged by 
Pius IX. himself, who praised the Bishop for having " de- 
nounced those men who, charged with the administration 
of public affairs, were favoring the designs of impiety by 
new and unheard-of attempts, and imprudently putting the 
last hand to the ruin of social order. ' ' That such opinions 
were not her opinions, the Empress did not hesitate to 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 97 

openly declare, and she emphasized her position with re- 
spect to these ' ' designs of impiety ' ' by sending her nieces 
to attend the lectures at the Sorbonne. 

Whatever in her own mind she might hold to be the 
ultimate truth, she had learned and believed that religion 
was largely a personal matter and an inheritance, and, con- 
sequently, has always regarded with tolerance, and with 
sympathy even, the members of every confession and the 
worshipers at altars other than her own. And this tol- 
erance is genuine and true. It is no product of policy or 
indifference. It is the result of knowledge. For the Em- 
press has discovered, as many of us have, that respect for 
the temples of others in no way weakens, but rather 
strengthens, the veneration in which we hold our own holy 
places. 

I shall never forget her unconcealed indignation on a 
certain occasion — since she has been living in England — 
when some one remarked : " It was the man 's religion, I 
suppose, that condemned him. " " No ! " said she, starting 
up suddenly ; " a religion should condemn no one. I don 't 
believe it. It would be a disgrace to our Christian civiliza- 
tion — to any civilization." And turning towards me she 
continued : ' ' You are a Protestant, I am a Catholic, another 
is a Jew. Is the difference in our religious opinions, in our 
forms of worship of one and the same great God, a reason 
why we should be not equal before the law? Is it on the 
pretext of these dift'erences that we are to be refused justice 
in our courts 1 The idea is monstrous ! There is but one 
justice before God; and it belongs to all men alike, rich or 
poor, black or white. Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Gen- 
tile. ' ' And these opinions — this large and tolerant spirit — 
owed nothing to her altered situation in life and a new 
environment. 

Some time in the early sixties, the Grand Rabbi of 
France received a note asking him to come to the Tuileries 
on the following morning. His astonishment was great. 



98 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

What had he done that should have provoked this sudden 
summons? With fear and trepidation he went to the pal- 
ace, and V7as ushered into the apartment of a chamberlain. 
Here he was told that the Empress wished to see him. On 
being introduced into her cabinet the Empress to his 
surprise received him very graciously; but he was, if pos- 
sible, still more astonished when he learned her Majesty's 
object in requesting him to come to the palace : She wished 
to obtain his advice and cooperation in a charity in which 
she was greatly interested — one intended for the special 
benefit of the Jews. 

Nor did the Empress restrict her liberalities and activi- 
ties to work that was merely eleemosynary and philan- 
thropic. She was keenly interested in everything that 
might extend the moral power, the civilizing influence, the 
language, and the fame of the French nation. She was 
ever ready to encourage literature, art, and science by appre- 
ciative words and helpful gifts. 

Those famous " house parties " at Compiegne were not 
assemblies, as so often represented, of men and women pre- 
occupied with fashion and the frivolities of life, but of per- 
sons distinguished in the liberal professions and arts, or for 
their special accomplishments or personal achievements. 
An invitation to pass a week in her society was among the 
gracious ways the Empress took to encourage those who 
were striving to widen and enrich the field of knowledge 
and cultivate a love of the true and the beautiful in the 
service of man, and to express her recognition of the merits 
of a Leverrier or a Pasteur, of an Ernest Legouve, a 
Gerome, or a Gounod. And was it not Flandrin who wrote 
to his friend Laureus to tell him how the Empress never 
ceased in her attentions to him while he was a guest at 
Compiegne? That this generous hospitality was appre- 
ciated, at the time, by those who were privileged to enjoy 
it, we may feel quite sure when a man of the eminence and 
sobriety of speech of M. Victor Cousin — who always stood 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 99 

aloof from the Empire — could write to her and say: " The 
esteem of such a person as you ought to satisfy the most 
ambitious. ' ' 

But for the things of the mind themselves she had a 
genuine love. Nothing delighted her more than to be able 
to steal away with some book that had captured her fancy, 
and, all alone by herself, devour its contents. She was also 
fond of drawing, and of painting in water-colors; and she 
made many original designs and sketches, intended to show 
landscape effects, for the use of the engineers who were en- 
gaged in laying out the Bois de Boulogne. She was even a 
competitor for the prize offered for the best design for the 
new Opera House ; and if she failed to obtain it, she at least 
had the satisfaction of hearing that her work was judged 
to be of sufficient excellence to entitle it to an " honorable 
mention. ' ' 

Much of the decorative painting in the Empress' apart- 
ments at the Tuileries was designed and executed under her 
immediate direction. Taking Cabanel one day into her 
cabinet de travail — " There," said she, "is a panel — 
you see there is nothing on it but a cord. Make me a pic- 
ture for it. If you don't," she continued, looking at the 
artist with the utmost gravity, " the cord can be used to 
hang — you. ' ' And so it was that to escape being hung him- 
self, Cabanel painted his famous picture of ' ' Ruth ' ' — and 
then his fine portrait of Napoleon III., that was placed in 
the same room. 

The Empress was a sincere lover of Art, of healthy 
Art, of architecture, of pictures of nature as seen out-of- 
doors under the sky, of the mysterious and ever-changing 
sea, and of the land in its infinite variety of shape, of 
texture, and of color — of mountains, and valleys, and 
streams, and fields, and trees, and cattle. Indeed, for 
homely, rural pictures she has always had a strong pre- 
dilection. One, therefore, will not be surprised to hear that 
she was an early admirer of the works of Rosa Bonheur, or 



100 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

that she publicly recognized the merits of that highly gifted 
woman by attaching with her own hands the Cross of the 
Legion of Honor to the lapel of Rosa's jacket. But gifted 
as she was with fine artistic sense, she appreciated genius 
wherever she saw it. How much M. Violet le Due, the 
famous archaeological architect, owed to her may never 
be known. Not always, however, was her generous patron- 
age forgotten. The deposed sovereign still possesses many 
souvenirs of grateful remembrance from artists whom she 
encouraged and aided when she had the power to do so. 
But the one cherished above all others, and never out of 
her Majesty's sight when she is at Farnborough, is Car- 
peaux' statue of the Prince Imperial standing by the side 
of his dog Nero — a work of beauty — a figure full of grace, 
the lines in the face of which are as pure and charming as 
those in the bust of the young Augustus. 

With the extraordinary curiosity to know that charac- 
terized the Empress, it is not surprising that she was pas- 
sionately fond of traveling ; that she wished to see the great 
world beyond the borders of France, and loved to visit 
strange lands, and to listen to reports and stories about 
distant or unexplored countries. Indeed, such was her in- 
terest in these matters that in July, 1869, she set aside from 
her own private purse the sum of 200,000 francs as a per- 
petual fund, the interest of which — estimated at 10,000 
francs — was to be awarded annually to the Frenchman who 
during the preceding year should have made the most im- 
portant contribution to geographical knowledge. 

And every one knows the deep interest she took in the 
construction of the Suez Canal; how warmly she espoused 
the cause of M. de Lesseps in 1865 ; how she encouraged him 
in the hours of his greatest difficulty ; how he acknowledged 
her to be the " guardian angel of the canal," to have 
been to him " what Isabella, the Catholic, was to Christo- 
pher Columbus ' ' ; and how she went to Egypt to enjoy 
with him his triumph, and to rejoice during those glorious 



I 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 101 

and splendid days when the waters of the Red Sea and 
those of the Mediterranean were formally joined together, 
and a new pathway was opened to the commerce of the 
world by French genius, energy, and perseverance. I can 
never forget her radiant figure as she stood on the bridge 
of the Aigle, while the Imperial yacht slowly passed by 
the immense throng that had assembled on the banks of 
the canal to greet her Majesty on her arrival at Ismalia. 
What a welcome she received from those children of the 
desert! " Vive VImperatrice! " " Vive Eugenie! " — 
with cannon firing, and a thousand flags and banners wav- 
ing. But not to herself did she take these honors. It was 
to France that she gave them — as, finally overcome with 
patriotic feeling, she covered her eyes with her handker- 
chief to suppress her tears. And the pity of it all! Only 
a few years later this great work with its vast consequences 
slipped forever out of the feeble hands that held it. 

While recording here some of my personal impressions 
and souvenirs relating particularly to those moral attri- 
butes with which in my judgment her Majesty v/as so richly 
endowed, it may be interesting to note that, after the fall 
of the Empire, there was found at the Tuileries a manu- 
script in the handwriting of the Emperor, containing his 
own appreciation of the character of his consort. It was 
written in 1868, fifteen years after his marriage. 

In it, among other things, he says : ' ' The character of 
the Empress still remains that of a lady of the simplest and 
most natural tastes. . . . The lot of all classes of the 
unfortunate constantly awakens her special solicitude. 
. . . How many generous reforms she still pursues with 
marvelous perseverance! A little of the young PJialan- 
sterian is still to be found in her. The condition of women, 
singularly preoccupies her. Her efforts are given to the 
elevation of her sex. ... At Compiegne nothing is 
more attractive than a tea-party of the Empress {im the 
de VImperatrice) . 



102 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

" Surrounded by a select circle, she talks with equal 
facility upon the most abstract questions, or on the most 
familiar topics of the day. The freshness of her powers of 
perception, and the strength, the boldness even, of her opin- 
ions at once impress and captivate. Her mode of express- 
ing herself, occasionally incorrect, is full of color and of 
life. With astonishing power of exact expression in con- 
versation on common affairs, she rises, in remarks on mat- 
ters of state or morality, to a pitch of real eloquence. 

" Pious without being bigoted, well informed without 
being pedantic, she talks on all subjects without constraint. 
She perhaps is too fond of discussion. Very sprightly in 
her nature, she often lets herself be carried away by her 
feelings, which have more than once excited enmities; but 
her exaggerations have invariably, for their foundation, the 
love of that which is good. ' ' 

The love and admiration of the Emperor for her whom 
he had chosen to be his life companion only increased as 
the years passed. He was proud of her beauty; so much 
so that he was heard to say, more than once, as she ap- 
peared, dressed for some public occasion, " Comme elle est 
helle! " But he was in reality, as one may see from the 
language he uses in describing his consort, still prouder 
of her intellectual and moral qualities. He was forever 
charmed by the brilliancy of her conversation, and still 
more so by the sincerity of her character and the purity of 
her ideals in all matters of conduct. The Emperor and 
the Empress thoroughly understood and thoroughly appre- 
ciated each other; and their mutual affection was indis- 
solubly united in their love of an only son, a love which 
knew no bounds and was complete and perfect. This was 
the light of the life of each. 

Were I to express in a few words what to me has always 
seemed to be the distinguishing quality of her Majesty's 
character, I should say it is her perfect naturalness. She 
was always at home, in every sense of that word. In what- 



MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR 103 

ever situation she might be placed, she was as free from 
self-consciousness as a child. It was the spontaneity of 
the spoken word, the freedom of movement, its instinc- 
tive grace, and, above all, the spiritual sincerity apparent 
in every word and act, that gave to her personality its 
irresistible charm. And yet this characterization would 
fail to express the whole truth, did I not say that her 
Majesty is not exempt from the defects of her qualities. 
Had she permitted herself to be less under the empire of 
her natural impulses, and less frequently given to the viva- 
cious expression of her feelings and her thoughts, and been 
more observant of the conventionalities that were insepa- 
rable from her official station and were often imperative, 
she might have avoided much of the criticism to which she 
has been subjected and to which, I have no doubt, she for 
the most part unconsciously and innocently exposed herself. 
She has suffered, and sometimes severely, in the judgment 
of the world, as have other women — as does all emotional 
imaginative humanity that is in the habit of speaking with 
little premeditation and without much reserve. To words 
expressing merely the passing sentiment of the moment a 
meaning was often imputed which they were never in- 
tended to convey. Sometimes, they were supposed to rep- 
resent her political convictions and sometimes her personal 
antipathies. They generally represented neither. 

To one of his friends who thought he had occasion to 
complain of a rather sharp remark addressed to him by her 
Majesty, the Emperor replied : ' ' You know the Empress is 
very hasty — but in reality she is very fond of you ! ' ' 

As for her Majesty's political convictions and sympa- 
thies, I will only say, in this connection, that they have been 
grossly misrepresented — for partizan purposes. The 4th of 
September must be justified ; it is always injustice that re- 
quires instant and persistent justification. It is the old — 
the everlasting story: " And then they began to accuse 
him, saying we found this fellow perverting the nation." 



104 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

When the protagonists of the Third Republic have 
passed away, and the history of the Second Empire can be 
judged without prejudice, the true character of the Em- 
press Eugenie — her public virtues, her goodness and her 
kindness, especially to the poor, will be recognized and 
gratefully remembered by the French people. It is the 
business, it is the duty, of posterity to rectify the mistakes 
of contemporary opinion; but happily, as Alexandre Du- 
mas, the younger, has wittily said of this opinion, when it 
relates to French affairs: " La posterite commence aux 
frontieres de la France.'^ 



CHAPTER IV 

THE IMPERIAL COURT — THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 

The Imperial Court — " Paris the heaven of Americans " — ^The banquet 
to General John A. Dix — ^The American colony — How things have 
changed — Parisian Society in those days — Causes of its decadence 
— Its "exoticism" — Sunt lacrimas re rum— The War of the Rebellion 
— ^The Emperor not unfriendly to our Government — Mr. William 
M. Dayton — How I kept the Emperor informed with respect to 
the progress of the War — The Roebuck incident — The Emperor 
is urged to recognize the Southern Confederacy — How he came to 
suggest friendly mediation — He sends for me to come to Com- 
piegne — The interview and what came of it — My visit to America 
— Interviews with Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward — Visit to City Point 
— Conversations with General Grant— His opinion of "political 
generals" — The Emperor's first words on my return — Why the 
Imperial Government did not recognize the Southern Confeder- 
acy — ^The Mexican Expedition — The assassination of Mr. Lincoln 
— The United States Sanitary Commission — ^The Empress' letter 
to me. 

HAD the honor of being among the first of the 
Americans that the Emperor knew intimately, 
although before I made his acquaintance in 
Paris he had visited the United States. Hav- 
ing arrived there in March, 1837, with the intention of 
remaining at least a year for the purpose of studying the 
institutions of the country, in less than three months he 
was called back to Europe suddenly by the illness of his 
mother. Of the few acquaintances he made in this brief 
visit he retained to the end of his life very pleasant mem- 
ories ; for the most enduring trait in his character, and the 
one perhaps most strongly marked, was his lively remem- 

105 




106 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

brance of kindnesses shown him, particularly when he was 
an exile. He never forgot a person, however lowly, who 
had been kind to him in England, Germany, Italy, or 
wherever else he had lived; and he afterward, when Em- 
peror, gave to some of these persons positions of which 
they were scarcely worthy. He would even go to much 
trouble to find out what had become of men who made no 
effort to recall themselves to his memory. It was most 
natural, therefore, that he should remember his visit to 
America, under the unhappy circumstances which caused 
him to leave Europe, and never forgot the attentions he 
received while in New York and in other cities of the 
United States, for they were bestowed when he was in 
the greatest need of sympathy and most susceptible of 
kindness. 

At no court in Europe were Americans more en evidence 
than at that of the Tuileries during the entire reign of 
Napoleon III. and the Empress Eugenie. They both spoke 
the English language perfectly, and the Emperor had that 
broad way of looking at things, those liberal ideas, that love 
of progress, which enabled him to appreciate the greatness 
of our rapidly growing country, the energy of our men, 
the beauty and elegance of our women, their sparkling wit 
and self-dependence. In fact Americans were always well 
received at the Imperial Court, especially if they were men 
or women of distinction, intelligence, and refinement; and 
the number of these, particularly of women remarkable 
for their social accomplishments, who were to be found 
in Paris during the Empire, either as residents or as occa- 
sional visitors, was very large. 

Less rigid in its etiquette than most European courts, 
and at the same time more splendid in its ceremonial forms ; 
the center of political power on the Continent, and the 
mirror of fashion for the whole world; a stage on which 
were assembled the celebrities of the day, statesmen, diplo- 
matists, generals, persons eminent in letters and in art, men 




THE EMPRESS EUGENIE. 

From a photograph taken about 1865. 



THE IMPERIAL COURT 107 

distinguished in every field of human interest, and women 
as famous for their wit as for the elegance of their toilets 
and their personal charms, preeminent among whom was 
the lovely Empress herself, a vision of beauty and grace, 
always with a pleasant word, or a sweet smile, or a bow of 
recognition for every one — is it wonderful that Paris, in 
those days, seemed most attractive to Americans? 

It used often to be said, ' ' Paris is the heaven of Ameri- 
cans;" and we were even encouraged by the late Mr. Tom 
Appleton, of Boston, to be virtuous and pious, by the assur- 
ance ' ' that all good Americans when they die go to Paris. ' ' 
And should this assurance be regarded by a few incorrigible 
skeptics as the language of transcendent metaphor, certainly 
no foreign visitors to the splendid capital of France were 
better able than we Americans to understand how a French- 
man, how Sainte Beuve could say : " Paris! c'est chez toi 
qu'il est doux de vivre, c'est chez toi que je veux moxirir.'" 

Never at any time were the Governments of Europe so 
splendidly represented at the French Court. The ambassa- 
dors, the ministers, and the attaches of the Embassies and 
Legations were not only diplomatists of great ability, but 
were men of the world; and their wives were generally 
equally remarkable for their intelligence and brilliant social 
accomplishments. Men and women like Lord and Lady 
Cowley, Count Hiibner, the Prince and Princess de Metter- 
nich, M. de Goltz, Baron Byens, Count Andrassy, MM. de 
Stiickelburg and Kisseleff, the Count and Countess Hatz- 
feld, Signor Nigra, and scores of others of equal rank 
and distinction, could not fail by their presence to add 
luster to a court already remarkable for its elegance and 
urbanity. 

It was my good fortune to have professional relations 
with the families of nearly all the diplomats who at differ- 
ent times, from 1852 to 1870, w^ere accredited to the Im- 
perial Government; and I am pleased now to remember a 
considerable number of those whose acquaintance I first 



108 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

made in this way, not so much because they were men and 
women conspicuous in the social life and the political his- 
tory of the time, as because I have always felt that I could 
count them among the number of my warmest and truest 
friends. I think I may say this without indiscretion. At 
least I hope it may be accepted as evidence that I am not 
speaking without knowledge of the time of which I am 
writing. 

It is well known that my countrymen, during the last 
few years of the Second Empire, were in the enjoyment of 
such privileges at Court as to be regarded with no little envy 
by the members of all the foreign colonies in Paris. At the 
splendid receptions given in the winter, in the great salons 
of Apollo and the First Consul, where the whole world was 
brilliantly represented, few of the foreign ministers or am- 
bassadors ventured to bring with them more than three or 
four of their compatriots. But our Minister was generally 
attended by a full squadron of his fair countrywomen, the 
delighted witnesses of pageants of which they themselves 
were one of the chief ornaments. Could it be expected that 
one should not sometimes hear it said : ' ' Ah, those Ameri- 
can Democrats ! How they do love kings and princes, the 
pomps and ceremonies of courts ! ' ' And they did love to 
see them then, and still do, in these days of the triumphant 
Democracy — not at home, but abroad, where they leave it 
to their Minister or Ambassador, dressed like an undertaker, 
to represent the Jeffersonian simplicity of the great Ameri- 
can Republic. 

Nor can some of us ever forget the gala days and Vene- 
tian nights at Saint Cloud, at Fontainebleau, and Com- 
piegne ; nor those brilliant scenes on the ice, in the Bois de 
Boulogne, where all Paris assembled to enjoy the skating, 
gay and happy in the keen air resonant with laughter, our 
countrywomen winning the admiration of every one for 
grace of movement, and elegance of dress, and sureness of 
foot, leaving it to others to provide the gaucJicries and the 



THE IMPERIAL COURT 109 

falls; nor how the Emperor and the Empress joined witK 
the rest in the exhilarating sport, and enjoyed the fun of 
it all with the zest and enthusiasm of youth. 

Large as was the number of Americans almost always 
present at the concerts and balls given at the Tuileries, 
who received through the United States Legation their in- 
vitations for these as well as for other great official func- 
tions, reviews, and festivals, the Emperor — thinking that it 
might be particularly agreeable to Americans to witness 
these displays, coming as they did from a country where 
such spectacles were seldom if ever seen — often asked me 
to furnish the names and addresses of any of my country 
people who, being in Paris, I thought might like to receive 
invitations. And many of them would never have seen 
some of the most brilliant assemblies and interesting cere- 
monies that took place during a very remarkable period in 
French history — a period of unparalleled magnificence — 
had they not been favored in this way. 

Perhaps the most notable of these pageants — those which 
appealed most strongly to the popular imagination — were 
the entries into Paris made by the army on its return from 
the Crimea in 1855, and by the ' ' Army of Italy ' ' in 1859. 
They were triumphs " such as were formerly accorded by 
the Roman Senate to its victorious legions ' ' ; and when the 
Imperial eagles ' ' which had conquered for France the rank 
that was her due, ' ' and the captured standards and cannon, 
and the tattered colors, and the bronzed and war-worn 
heroes passed in review on the Place Vendome, before the 
Emperor, on horseback, surrounded by a brilliant staff 
drawn up at the foot of the column made of the guns cap- 
tured at Austerlitz, the scene was most impressive. 

I remember, as if it were yesterday, the 14th of August, 
1859 ; the extraordinary display, on this occasion, of flags 
and banners, and decorative devices and inscriptions, in the 
Rue de la Paix and the principal boulevards ; the triumphal 
arches; the immense ornamental columns surmounted by 
9 



110 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

colossal Victories holding in their outstretched hands golden 
wreaths or crowns of laurel ; the rich draperies spread from 
balcony to balcony across the facades of the buildings that 
front upon the Place Vendome; the great tribunes to the 
right and the left, rising tier upon tier, and filled with thou- 
sands of people; and the gallery built over the entrance 
of the Ministry of Justice, where, under a magnificent can- 
opy of crimson velvet, studded with golden bees and fringed 
with gold, the Empress sat, surrounded by the ladies of her 
Court, while all the neighboring windows and balconies were 
occupied by the great dignitaries of the Empire in their 
showy uniforms or robes of office, and by ladies in elegant 
costumes — the very roofs of the houses being covered with 
spectators. As regiment after regiment passed along the line 
of march flowers were thrown from every window and cries 
of ''Vive I'Empereur! " arose on every side. Suddenly, as 
a great body of cavalry debouched from the Rue de la Paix 
on to the Place, a baby — the little Prince Imperial, now 
three years old — dressed in the blue-and-red uniform of the 
Grenadiers de la Garde, was lifted up on to the pommel 
of the saddle in front of the Emperor. The scene that 
immediately followed is indescribable. The waving of 
handkerchiefs, the dipping of colors, the flashing of sabers, 
the storm of vivas that rang out from the officers, the sol- 
diers, the tribunes, the whole vast assembly, to acclaim the 
little Prince on his first appearance in public, appeared to 
be without end. This union of the future of the nation 
with the triumph of the army of Solf erino and Magenta, at 
the foot of the monument that commemorated the victories 
of the founder of the dynasty, seemed most auspicious 
and touched the hearts of the people. They had been 
brought in contact with the forces that govern the world, 
and the contagion of the human feeling set in motion was 
so strong, so irresistible, that even the most irreconcilable 
enemies of the Government were carried away by it, and, 
joining in the demonstration, threw flowers at the feet of 



THE IMPERIAL COURT 111 

the Emperor and his son, and cried out with all their 
might: " Vive VArmee! Vive la France! " 

Few of those who were present on either of these 
occasions will ever forget the immense enthusiasm with 
which the spectacle revived again the glories of the 
" Grand Army " and the memory of Napoleon. 

Say what some Frenchmen may now, there were never 
prouder days in the history of France than these. 

In June, 1869, a banquet was given by the American 
colony to General John A. Dix, who was about to leave 
Paris, having just retired from his post as our Minister 
to the Imperial Court, after he had served his country 
faithfully, and had won the esteem, the admiration, and 
the love, I may say, of all who were fortunate enough 
to have made his acquaintance. Nearly four hundred 
Americans were assembled together on this occasion, which 
was the most brilliant of its kind in the history of our 
colony. A soldier by training. General Dix was widely 
acquainted with the world, deliberate in his judgments, 
not inclined to exaggeration, and, withal, possessed a deli- 
cate and highly cultivated sense of the true and the beau- 
tiful. His reply to the toast offered in his honor was 
remarkable in many respects; but among the words then 
spoken by him, none perhaps are better worth remember- 
ing and repeating than these : 

'* The advantages enjoyed in Paris by the American 
Colony, which has become so populous as almost to con- 
stitute a distinctive feature in the physiognomy of the city, 
can be by none better appreciated than by ourselves. We 
are living without personal taxation or exactions of any 
sort in this most magnificent of modern capitals, full of 
objects of interest, abounding in all that can gratify the 
taste, as well as in sources of solid information; and these 
treasures of art and of knowledge are freely opened to 
our inspection and use. Nor is this all. We are invited 
to participate most liberally — far more liberally than at 



112 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

any other Court in Europe — in the hospitalities of the 
palace. I have myself, during the two years and a half 
of my service here, presented to their Imperial Majesties 
more than three hundred of our fellow-citizens of both 
sexes; and a much larger number presented in former 
years have during the same period shared the same 
courtesies, 

" In liberal views, and in that comprehensive forecast 
which shapes the policy of the present to meet the exigen- 
cies of the future, the Emperor seems to me to be decidedly 
in advance of his ministers, and even of the popular body 
chosen by universal suffrage to aid him in his legislative 
labors. Of her who is the sharer of his honors and the 
companion of his toils, who in the hospital, at the altar, 
or on the throne, is alike exemplary in the discharge of 
her varied duties, whether incident to her position or 
voluntarily taken upon herself, it is difficult for me to 
speak without rising above the common language of eulo- 
gium. As in the history of the ruder sex great luminaries 
have from time to time risen high above the horizon, to 
break and at the same time to illustrate the monotony of 
the general movement, so, in the annals of hers, brilliant 
lights have at intervals shone forth and shed their luster 
upon the stately march of regal pomp and power. Such 
was one of her royal predecessors; of whom Edmund 
Burke said, ' There never lighted on this orb, which she 
scarcely seemed to touch, a more delightful vision.' Such 
was that radiant Queen of Bohemia whose memory history 
has embalmed, and to whom Sir Henry Wotton, in a mo- 
ment of poetic exaltation, compared the beauties of the 
skies. And such is she of whom I am speaking. When 
I have seen her taking part in that most imposing, as I 
think, of all Imperial pageants — the opening of the Legis- 
lative Chamber, standing amid the assembled magistracy 
of Paris and of France, surrounded by the representatives 
of the talent, the genius, the learning, the literature, and 



THE IMPERIAL COURT 113 

the piety of this great Empire; or amid the resplendent 
scenes of the palace, moving about with a gracefulness all 
her own, and with a simplicity of manner which has a 
double charm when allied to exalted rank and station, I 
confess I have more than once whispered to myself, and 
I believe not always inaudibly, that beautiful verse of the 
graceful and courtly Claudian, the last of the Roman 
poets : 

' Divino semita gressu claruit ' 

or, rendered into our plain English and stripped of its 
poetic hyperbole, ' the very path she treads is radiant with 
her unrivaled step.' " 

The special favors accorded to the members of our 
colony by the Imperial Court were duly appreciated. 
They gave pleasure to us, but, in turn, by benefiting the 
furnishers of all the beautiful things loved and admired 
by Americans, they gave pleasure to the French also. 

The proportion of resident members in the American 
colony was much greater than at present, and our colony 
then formed a far more considerable and influential sec- 
tion of Parisian society than it does to-day. And it was 
all the while, up to the fall of the Empire, constantly 
growing by the increase of its permanent elements. 

During this period, the cost of living in Paris was 
relatively small. Rents were low, the domestic service 
nearly perfect, and luxuries of every sort cheap. The 
educational facilities were ample, not expensive, and of 
a high order. Paris was not only a delightful place for 
the rich to live in, but large numbers of Americans with 
moderate incomes found that they could reside here free 
from a multitude of cares, in comparative elegance, mem- 
bers of a cultivated and refined society, and at the same 
time could secure for their children the advantages and 
accomplishments of a superior education. 

New York, Philadelphia, and Boston were always well 



114 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

represented in our colony. But the Southern contingent 
was perhaps the strongest. It represented a large con- 
stituency and a class of Americans accustomed to spend 
money freely. If the war of 1861-65 reduced the incomes 
of these Southern colonists, it greatly increased their num- 
ber. Moreover, up to 1861 the American Minister to 
France was generally a Southern man — the series ending 
with William C. Rives, John Y. Mason, and Charles J. 
Falkner, all of Virginia. 

Owing to the great increase in the population and 
wealth of the United States, the number of Americans 
who visit Paris every year is larger now than it was 
twenty-five or thirty years ago. But few of these visitors 
remain here long, and those who do have generally pre- 
ferred to pitch their tents among the nomads of the 
Quartier Latin, rather than live in the more conventional 
and fashionable Quartier de VEtoile. 

How things have changed with us here in Paris since 
1870! Who are the Americans that are invited to the 
official receptions to-day? The members of our Embassy 
and a few persons on special missions. The relations be- 
tween Americans and the representatives of the French 
Government are now wholly official and perfunctory. 
Left, since the disappearance of the Imperial Court, with- 
out a recognized head and arbiter of forms and ceremonies, 
and procedures and precedents, Parisian society has become 
broken up into circles and cliques, and small bodies which 
move about subject to no law, and whose being and 
coherence would seem to be determined solely by mutual 
repulsion. 

The tone of Parisian society in those days was quite 
unlike that which has since obtained. It was cosmopolitan 
and not provincial, and was a reflex of the political pres- 
tige of the Empire both at home and abroad. It was a 
society full of movement and originality, of unconven- 
tionality, and gaiety, and charm. The admirable taste, 



THE IMPERIAL COURT 115 

the artistic sentiment and distinction shown by those who 
best represented it, especially in everything relating to 
manners, and dress, and the outward appearance of the 
person, found expression in a word which was then fre- 
quently used to symbolize the sum of all these mundane 
elegancies. The women of those days were not more beau- 
tiful than are the women of the Republic; but the women 
of the Empire had chic. Every one then who was some- 
body in society — man or woman — was chic, if not by na- 
ture or by grace, by example and habit. As this word 
is now obsolescent, at least, it would seem as if the qualities 
it was intended to express w^ere gradually dying out. Nor 
is it surprising that it should be so — that with the change 
in the Government there should have been a social revul- 
sion as well, and that Parisian society under the Republic 
should imitate the stiff and meager conventionalities and 
formalisms of the bourgeois monarchy; should sneer at 
' ' the meretricious splendor of the Imperial Court ' ' ; 
should scoff at the cocodettes and femmes exotiques of the 
Second Empire, and cultivate a narrow, repellent, and 
exclusive Nationalism; or, moved by the Democratic spirit 
that is now, at the end of the century, sweeping over the 
world, should be rather proud than otherwise of the cotton 
umbrellas of Louis Philippe, and the frugalities of M. 
Grevy. 

The generous hospitality extended to foreign visitors 
by the Imperial Court was often — sub rosd — the subject 
of envious or cynical comment on the part of those who 
witnessed it. But the journalists and chroniclers of the 
day were polite to strangers. Since the fall of the Em- 
pire, however, its " exoticism," as it is called, has become 
a sort of Turk's head with a certain class of writers. 
" The distinguished but slightly bourgeois element that 
constituted society under Louis Philippe ' ' — to use the lan- 
guage of one of these writers — was shocked by the intro- 
duction into France of outdoor sports such as tennis, and 



116 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

archery, and hunting ; and was made inconsolable on learn- 
ing that " I' argot hritannique des jockeys " had forced 
its way into Salons once famous as the offirAnes of the 
degermanised Hegelianism of M. Cousin. These political 
moralists and incorruptible patriots pretend to have dis- 
covered in a fondness for foreigners and foreign ideas 
the origin of the frivolity, the unbridled license and cor- 
ruption which, they allege, prevailed during nearly the 
whole of the Imperial regime; and that one of the con- 
tributory causes of the present general decadence of French 
society — which they acknowledge — was the favor accorded 
by the Tout Paris of that time to princes and nabobs from 
Asia and Africa, and to successful American speculators, 
and traders in pork and sewing-machines. I have no 
doubt that there are persons who sincerely believe these 
things, but they are certainly not those who have most 
vehemently and persistently asserted them — something 
much easier to do than to make evident to the world the 
preeminent excellence and unsullied purity of political and 
social life in the French capital, during the Monarchy 
and under the third Republic. Indeed, much of this silly 
criticism is only a rehash of the gossip of " salons " that 
under the Empire were demodes and had become merely 
the convenient rendez-vous of literary Bohemians, eman- 
cipated women and politicians out of business — in short 
of the uncompromising Opposition. The simple truth is 
that if foreigners were treated with especial hospitality 
and courtesy at the Imperial Court, it was only a proper 
and polite recognition of the homage the whole world was 
then pleased to pay to France, and to the sovereigns who 
represented with such distinction a nation which under 
their rule had gained the ascendency it lost at the Res- 
toration and had become once more, and beyond dispute, 
the dominant power on the European Continent. 

There was a time when all roads led to Rome. But 
when Rome ceased to be the Capital of the world and be- 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 117 

came the capital of Italy and the See of a Bishop, roads 
were built to meet the requirements of the multitude of 
foreigners who preferred to travel in other directions. 

If there is no longer an American society here, if 
London has captured it — in part, at least — it is because 
Paris is now socially dead. 

The lights that once shone here have been extinguished, 
the guests — the entertained as well as the entertainers — 
have gone. The very palace even, where they were wont 
to assemble, has been destroyed by the torch of the incen- 
diary. The chef d'ceuvre of Philibert Delorme and Jean 
Bullant, with its majestic pavilions, its noble galleries and 
salons, with all their rich embellishments, the work of 
three hundred years of the genius and esthetic sentiment 
of France ; the sculptures and paintings, the furniture and 
the tapestries, the polished bronze and marble, the splen- 
did staircase — on the steps of which at either side the cent 
gardes stood like statues on State occasions; and the mag- 
nificent Salle des Marechaux — where the great ceremonies 
were held — resplendent with mural decorations and velvet 
draperies, and traceries of gold, and superb chandeliers 
hanging from the ceiling like vast masses of jewels, and 
adorned with the portraits and busts of dead heroes; and 
the brilliant uniforms and elegant toilettes, and the music, 
and the flowers, and the spectacular effects of the moving 
and constantly changing scene, which opened to the admi- 
ring eyes of the throng a new world of beauty and of 
grace — all these glories and these pageants have vanished, 
and the world now knows them, and will know them, no 
more forever — except as history or legend. Sunt lacrimce 
rerum. 

It has been the habit of Americans to say of Napoleon 
III. that he was not friendly to our Government during 
the War of the Rebellion. 

At the beginning of this war, it is quite certain that 



118 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

nearly everybody in Europe felt a sympathy for the South, 
for it seemed to be the weaker party. Sharing this general 
feeling, the Emperor may have had, moreover, a passing 
and chivalric sentiment of admiration for the stubborn, 
plucky, and gallant resistance which the seceding States 
offered to the Federal Government. It should be remem- 
bered also that a very considerable part of the territory of 
the Confederacy once belonged to France, and that the 
largest and richest city of the South — New Orleans — to 
great numbers of Frenchmen has always seemed to be a 
city of their own people. 

Then, again, commercial interests were deeply con- 
cerned, and became more and more so as the war went 
on. National industries were paralyzed and markets lost. 
Thousands of working men were idle.* And after great 
battles had been fought that decided nothing, and appar- 
ently tended to no definite conclusion, the people, more 
particularly in England and France, began to grow tired 
of hearing of the continued slaughter in what, to them, 
seemed to be an interminable war. 

The French, however, were less interested than the 
English in the final issue of the war ; and the French Press 
was much more moderate in its tone than the English Press, 
from which, however, it obtained most of its information 

* A bill that opened a credit of five millions of francs in behalf of 
the working men in the manufacturing districts especially affected by 
the American war was passed in January, 1863, by the unanimous 
consent of the French Assembly. But as early as March, 1862, the 
Emperor had sent as a personal gift to the operatives — principally in 
cotton-mills — now out of work, the sum of 250,000 francs. "In some 
departments the sufferings of these men were very severe. In that of 
the Seine Inferieure the number of laborers who were thrown out of 
work was estimated at one hundred and thirty thousand. Private 
charity cooperated with the Legislature, and on January 26th two 
million francs had already been absorbed. The resignation and patriotic 
attitude of the working men were generally commended; and on May 
4th the Legislature voted a new credit of one million two hundred 
thousand francs in their behalf." — American Annual Cyclopedia. 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 119 

and misinformation with respect to American affairs. Few 
Americans living, in the present era of good feeling, have 
any adequate idea of the intense hostility exhibited towards 
the Government of President Lincoln in English official 
circles and in the British Parliament, not by the Tory 
opposition alone, but by the leading representatives of the 
Liberal Government of the day — Gladstone, Roebuck, Lord 
Brougham — Blanche, Tray, and Sweetheart — it was the 
same cry: " Jefferson Davis has created a new nation and 
the Yankee war must be stopped. ' ' * 

The Southern Confederacy was ably represented in 
Europe; its agents were numerous, intelligent, and active. 
But public sympathy was of little practical service to 
their cause; what they wanted to secure was the effective 
aid of the European governments — recognition, at least. 
In France, especially, their work was principally within 
ofiEicial circles — although unofficial. Mr. Slidell, the Com- 
missioner of the Confederate Government, imrecognized at 
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, sought to confer with 
other members of the Imperial Government and directly 
with the Emperor himself. In this and in all his doings he 
had the active cooperation of large numbers of Southern 
men and women who resided in Paris during the war; 
and the Southern ladies, who formed a brilliant and in- 
fluential society, vied with each other in their endeavors 
to enlist in support of their cause every one connected 
with the Imperial Court. It was most natural, since they 
were pleading for their homes and their families. Many 
of them had fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons fighting 
for what they regarded as birthrights. Their zeal, their 
strenuous efforts, and continued labor were not in vain, for 
the Court was almost entirely gained over to their side. 
The consequence was that the Emperor was constantly 
surrounded by those who sympnthi/pd with the South. 

* See Appendix IV, 



120 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

I regret to say that there was another reason for this 
sympathy, there were men at Court holding high official 
positions who acted entirely from motives of self-interest. 
There were, to my knowledge, offers of large quantities of 
cotton made to some of these persons, if by their influence 
they could induce the Emperor to recognize the Southern 
Confederacy. The Emperor was, at times, absolutely 
beset by these people. According to them, the South was 
sure of success, and the inability of the Federal Govern- 
ment to carry on the war much longer was a constant 
theme with them. The Emperor listened to these statements 
in his usual quiet way, occasionally smiling, but whether 
because he was pleased or incredulous was never known; 
for he was never betrayed into consenting to an act or 
giving an opinion inconsistent wath an attitude of com- 
plete neutrality, although he often expressed his desire, in 
the interest of humanity, to see the war brought to a close, 
in order that the suffering and loss of life necessarily 
caused by this cruel conflict might cease. 

But when the real causes that led to the secession of 
the Southern States from the Federal Union began to be 
apparent, and it became clear that the leaders in this move- 
ment had but one end in view, namely, the creation of a 
powerful Republic for the perpetuation of human slavery, 
it grew more and more difficult for the Emperor, as for 
many others who could not fail to watch this great strug- 
gle with intense interest, to reconcile their very natural 
sympathies for the weak with a desire for the triumph 
of right and justice, and the advancement of civilization 
and happiness among men. However brilliantly the com- 
mercial benefits to Europe of a great cotton-growing, free- 
trade American Republic might be set forth, the condition 
on which alone they could be obtained — a sanction for 
the servitude of the black race — ^was intolerable to the 
European conscience. No man understood this better than 
Napoleon III. But the opinion of others was unnecessary 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 121 

in this ease, for the thought of servitude was always re- 
pugnant to him. 

While a prisoner at Ham he wrote: " To-day the object 
of enlightened governments should be to devote their efforts 
to hasten the period when men may say, ' The triumph of 
democratic ideas has caused the extinction of pauperism; 
the triumph of the French Revolution has put an end to 
serfdom; the triumph of Christianity has destroyed sla- 
very.' " And when finally he became Emperor, he did 
not forget his words ; for the single object of his own life, 
constantly in mind to its very end, was to see these ideas 
realized in history. 

I had personally the greatest respect for the American 
Minister at the French Court, Mr. William M. Dayton. 
He was an able lawyer, a most honorable and upright man, 
beloved by all who knew him, and universally esteemed. 
But Mr, Dayton was an exceedingly modest man, with a 
fine sense of the dignity of his office, and certainly would 
not have considered it proper that he should attempt to 
represent the United States before the French Government 
in any other than a strictly diplomatic way. 

As a simple American citizen, I was free from all offi- 
cial responsibility. I knew that I could be of great service 
to my country, and whenever I felt that I ought to act or 
speak, I was restrained by no fear of being too intrusive or 
too strenuous. At the beginning of the war the Federal 
Government was unable to arm the soldiers who were called 
out by the President, and efforts were made to obtain mili- 
tary supplies in Europe. And I am happy to say, that in 
my capacity of private citizen I was able to obtain from 
a French company a large quantity of firearms which were 
sent with other military stores to the United States; and 
— what is of more importance in this connection — that the 
transaction was effected with the knowledge and permis- 
sion of Napoleon III. 



122 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

With the facilities I had of communicating directly with 
the Emperor and coming in contact, as I did every day, with 
the principal personages about the Court, and the most dis- 
tinguished men in the Legislature, the Army, the Church, 
and in every walk of life, and with the members of their 
families, I had very frequent and unusual opportunities of 
defending the cause of our National Government. More- 
over, my relations with my compatriots, my presumed ac- 
quaintance with American affairs, the deep interest I took 
in the preservation of our Union, and the confidence with 
which I predicted it, caused me and my opinions to be 
much sought after; and particularly as I, excepting per- 
haps Prince Napoleon, was the only person with pronounced 
Northern views having frequent access to the Emperor. I 
firmly believed in the eventual success of the Federal Gov- 
ernment, and, being almost alone in that belief, I was com- 
pelled to keep myself well informed with respect to every- 
thing that might strengthen it and furnish me with facts 
and arguments to support and add weight to my assertions. 
I was constantly on the lookout for the latest news, and 
took special pains to meet and converse with those persons 
coming from America who could give me information, so 
that I might communicate it to the Emperor, who was never 
unwilling to hear " the other side." It was, therefore, 
necessary to be always at work to meet the statements, and 
thwart the designs, and destroy the hopes of the agents, 
accredited or unaccredited, of the Confederate Government, 
for " those who hear only one bell hear only one sound." 
I accordingly, as long as this terrible war lasted, continued 
to do what in ordinary circumstances is either not done, 
or is effected through diplomatic channels. 

I always let Mr. Dayton know that I was keeping the 
Emperor informed of what was passing; and he rendered 
me all the assistance he could, never feeling that I was in 
any way interfering with his duties or prerogatives. A more 
patriotic, generous, and unselfish man could not be found. 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 123 

I particularly endeavored to convey to the mind of the 
Emperor some idea of the fervent patriotism, the indomi- 
table courage, the inexhaustible patience, and the undying 
devotion to their cause, of the men of the North. And I 
never lost an occasion to show him the progress we had 
made, or to call his attention to what our troops were doing. 
I supplied him continually with documents and newspapers 
containing important information relating to the war, and 
with maps that would aid him in following the movements 
of the different armies in the field. These were placed in 
a room at the Tuileries near his private cabinet. Here he 
frequently went to consult the maps, and to mark, with pins 
to which little flags were attached, the positions of the op- 
posing armies. At times he was greatly interested in watch- 
ing the movements of these armies, and made them even the 
subjects of critical technical study. 

Thus he was able to estimate the value of the assertions 
of those w^ho surrounded him, and sought to bring him to 
the point of acknowledging the Southern Confederacy ; and 
so it happened that when they felt most sure of accom- 
plishing their purpose they found him to be immovable. 
His reticence puzzled them. And yet, sometimes, he sur- 
prised them by statements showing that he knew more 
about the war, and its probable duration, and the final 
result than they had imagined possible. On one occasion, 
that came within my knowledge, to a person who had 
reported to him a great Confederate victory, he replied 
quietly, but with a most crushing effect: 

" The facts are quite contrary to what you have been 
telling me." 

One afternoon, in the summer of 1862, while driving in 
the Bois de Boulogne, I met Mr. N. M. Beckwith, who 
informed me that on the following evening Mr. Roebuck 
was to make a statement in the House of Commons re- 
lating a conversation he had had with the Emperor at 



124 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Fontainebleau a few days before ; his purpose being to show 
that in this interview the Emperor had given him assur- 
ances that he would not be indisposed to intervene in behalf 
of the Southern Confederacy under certain conditions 
agreed upon with the English Government. 

I thought over the matter during the night, and came 
to the conclusion that if the Emperor had had a conversa- 
tion with Mr. Roebuck it had not been of such a nature 
as to authorize him to announce, or even to attempt to 
foreshadow, in Parliament the Imperial policy with re- 
spect to this subject. I knew Mr. Roebuck was interested 
in giving the conversation such a color that it would seem, 
to those who heard him, that the Emperor had decided to 
join with England in this much-desired alliance in behalf 
of the Confederacy. I had, however, personal knowledge 
of the view^s entertained by the Emperor, and was confident 
that he had no such intention, but was determined not to 
recognize the Confederacy, to observe the strictest neutral- 
ity, and to intervene only in case of our manifest inability 
to bring the war to an end ourselves. To such a strait he 
did not believe we would come. And it was for this reason 
that he had refused all the entreaties, not only of English 
statesmen, but of those about him, of some of his own min- 
isters, and more especially of M. de Persigny, who never 
lost an occasion to present the case of the Confederates as 
favorably as possible, and to insist on the utter inability 
of our Government to put down the rebellion. Neverthe- 
less Mr. Beckwith's statement was so precise that I re- 
solved to see the Emperor and ascertain what possible foun- 
dation there might be for it. 

With this purpose in view I started early the next morn- 
ing for Fontainebleau. I saw the Emperor as soon as he 
had left his bed, and communicated to him what I had 
learned about Mr. Roebuck's intention. I asked him if 
anything in the conversation he had had with that very 
active member of Parliament could be construed into a 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 125 

promise to recognize the Southern Confederacy on certain 
conditions ; and if Mr. Roebuck had his permission to make 
an announcement to that effect in the House of Commons. 
His Majesty most unhesitatingly denied having given him 
any assurances or promises whatsoever. The conversation 
he said had been general and he should be greatly astonished 
if Roebuck were so to report the conversation that it could 
be considered as containing a promise or pledge on his part 
to act in relation to the matter conjointly with the British 
Government. So anxious was he to avoid any such inter- 
pretation of the conversation, that he decided, at my sug- 
gestion, to have a telegram sent to a member of Parliament, 
directing him, in case Mr. Roebuck should make such a 
statement, to deny immediately that there had been any 
pledge or promise, or that he was in any way bound by the 
remarks of that gentleman. 

This was done, and when Mr. Roebuck, in the course of 
a speech, referred to his having seen the Emperor of the 
French at Fontainebleau a few days before, and began to 
report the conversation which had taken place on that oc- 
casion, he was immediately informed that a telegram had 
been received from the Emperor stating that the conver- 
sation had been entirel}^ private. 

Besides the influences the Emperor was continually 
under, coming from his entourage and from interested pri- 
vate individuals, much pressure was brought to bear on him 
from several foreign governments — especially the English 
— to induce him to recognize the Southern Confederacy. 
I am in possession of positive information upon this sub- 
ject. I have seen and read, and have had in my hands, 
papers sent to the Emperor, and coming from the English 
Foreign Office, in which it was proposed that France should 
join with England in recognizing the Confederacy. This 
is at variance with the usually received impression. It is 
generally believed that France and her Government, and 
the Emperor personally, were anxious to recognize the Con- 
10 



126 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

f ederacy ; and to that end solicited the cooperation of Eng< 
land. I insist that this was not the case, and that the con- 
trary was true. The Emperor never came at any time to 
the point of believing, as Palmerston did, that it was best 
to recognize the Southern Confederacy, After some of the 
failures and defeats of our army, it is not to be wondered 
at if, in common with nearly every one in Europe, he had 
some doubts of the final result. 

Those were dark days that followed the failure of the 
Peninsular campaign and the battles of the second Bull 
Run. Then it was that Gladstone made his notorious 
speech at Newcastle, and that even the friends of the 
Union in Europe began to grow faint-hearted. It was 
of this time that Lowell spoke when he said of Charles 
Francis Adams, " None of our generals in the field, not 
Grant himself, did us better or more trying service than 
he in his forlorn outpost in London." Then it was, also, 
that the Emperor expressed the opinion that perhaps the 
Federal Government might be induced to accept the 
friendly mediation of England, Russia, and France, and 
consent to an armistice; and if so, that the offer of such 
mediatory services was desirable. But this opinion was 
suggested by humane rather than by political considera- 
tions.* At the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion, the 

* The Emperor in his address to the Legislative Body, January 12, 
1863, said: 

"The situation of the Empire would be flourishing had not the 
American war come to dry up one of the most fruitful sources of our 
industry. The unnatural stagnation of business has caused, in several 
places a state of destitution which is worthy of our solicitude, and an 
appropriation will be asked of you in behalf of those who are support- 
ing with resignation the effect of a calamity which it is not in our power 
to bring to an end. Nevertheless, I have attempted to send across the 
Atlantic counsels inspired by the sincerest sympathy, but the great 
maritime Powers not having as yet thought it proper to join with me, I 
have postponed until a more propitious time the offer of mediation, 
the object of which was to arrest the effusion of blood and prevent the 
exhaustion of a country whose future cannot be indifferent to us." 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 127 

relations of the French Government with the Federal Gov- 
ernment were very friendly. Our War Department ob- 
tained military supplies of various kinds in France with- 
out difficulty ; and the views expressed by the Emperor in 
July, 1861, with respect to the blockade of the Southern 
coast, were entirely satisfactory to Mr. Ijincoln. It was 
even supposed, so marked was the absence in France of the 
hostile feeling which prevailed in England, that, under cer- 
tain circumstances, the Imperial Government might give 
direct assistance to the cause of the Union. Or was the 
suggestion of such assistance actually made to Mr. Lincoln 
and Mr. Seward by Prince Napoleon when he visited Wash- 
ington in the summer of 1861? Whatever answer may be 
given to this question, it is quite certain that Mr. Seward 
entertained the idea of the friendly neutrality of France 
at the time of the Trent affair; and, if it was among the 
reasons that led him at first to decline to surrender the Con- 
federate Commissioners, it was also because of the very 
amicable relations between the French Legation and the 
State Department that Mr. Seward was disposed to listen 
to the representations on this subject made to him by M. 
Mercier at the request of ]\I. Thouvenel, acting at the 
suggestion of the Emperor. Indeed, it was because the 
friendly advice given on this occasion had proved so suc- 
cessful — had apparently prevented a disastrous war 
between the United States and Great Britain — that the 
Emperor was finally induced to sound the English and Rus- 
sian governments with respect to the expediency of offer- 
ing to the belligerents, conjointly with the Imperial Gov- 
ernment, their friendly services as mediators. 

But while the relations between France and the United 
States were constantly maintained upon an amicable foot- 
ing until near the end of the secession war, the relations 
between the English and the French governments during 
the same period, if not strained — in the diplomatic sense 
of that word — w^ere certainly very far from being cordial. 



128 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Not only was the hostility then shown by Lords Palmerston 
and Russell to the policy of the Empire, with respect to 
nearly every question concerning- European politics, a cause 
of almost constant irritation, but the abusive language 
employed by the Press and by individuals, who were pre- 
sumed to represent the English Government, when speak- 
ing of Napoleon III, — language which often exceeded in 
bitterness that with which ]\Ir. Lincoln was bespattered 
by the same Press and the same persons — was keenly felt 
by the Emperor, and was frequently the subject of his 
indignant remonstrance. The Emperor, when his co- 
operation was desired by the English Government contem- 
plating an intervention in American affairs, was in no 
humor to listen to the solicitations of the men who were re- 
sponsible for that Government, and were, at the same time, 
his personal enemies and the friends of his political enemies. 
The Emperor never wholly gave up the thought that ulti- 
mately the North would succeed. In his opinion it would 
be a misfortune for the country to be divided. In fact, a 
division of the United States into separate and independent 
Governments would have been in conflict with the principle 
of " great agglomerations," of " nationalities and natural 
boundaries," which was the foundation of his theory of 
international relations. It would not only have been con- 
trary to his general political policy, but it would have been 
unnatural for him to wish to see our Union dismembered. 
No. That was never his wish. 

I could furnish, were it necessary to do so, innumerable 
proofs to sustain these affirmations. I will here state what 
took place one day in the summer of 1864, as also its con- 
sequence — an episode that brings to my mind delightful 
reminiscences of men now and forevermore famous in our 
national history. 

I was sent for by the Emperor to come to Compiegne. 
This was just after the great battles of the Wilderness and 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 129 

the failure of Grant's first movement against Richmond; 
when Early's army was in sight of the Capitol, and news 
of the capture of Washington was expected at any moment. 
His Majesty informed me that he had received a commu- 
nication from London, in which he was seriously advised, 
urged, and even begged to recognize the Southern Confed- 
eracy. 

The substance of the note was to this effect: " The 
Washington Government have no chance of getting through 
with this cruel war. It is now time it should cease, and 
a stop should be put to it." And the Emperor was told 
that if he would take the initiative in the work of ending 
this war, public opinion in England would force the Gov- 
ernment to cooperate with him. 

" You see how hard I am pressed," the Emperor said, 
" yet I have not yielded, because of the assurances I have 
received — and from you among others — that it is only a 
question of time when the war must end in the complete 
success of the Federal Government." 

I told him the war was certainly approaching an end; 
that the resources of the South were almost exhausted ; that, 
with nearly a million seasoned soldiers in the field, the mili- 
tary power of the North was irresistible. So I pleaded for 
hands off; and pleading with the Emperor not to yield to 
the pressure of private interest, nor to be influenced by 
communications of the kind he had just received, but to 
await events, I became warm and was quite carried away 
by my subject. I told him that the recognition of the 
Confederacy would only cause much more blood to flow; 
that foreign intervention would be useless; that the people 
of the North would never permit any intervention from 
abroad in their affairs — no matter what sacrifices it might 
be necessary to make, either of money or of men. 

Just at this moment a door, which was hidden with up- 
holstery so as to be invisible, opened as if by magic, and the 
Prince Imperial, then a beautiful boy of eight years, ap- 



130 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

peared before us in a most charming and surprised manner ri 
— as he did not know that any one was in the private room i 
of his father. He had thought him alone, and began to > 
apologize for his intrusion. 

But it furnished the occasion and gave me the courage 
to say: " Sire, you cannot think of recognizing the Gov- 
ernment of Jefferson Davis ; for the dismemberment of our 
great Union founded by Washington would be a crime. 
No! Were it done by your aid, the States of the North 
would never forget you nor cease to curse your name. For 
this boy's sake you cannot act. He is to succeed you, and 
the people of my country would visit it upon his head, if 
you had helped to destroy our great and happy Union. 

" You cannot think of the miseries it would entail. 
You cannot think of doing this. Keep our friendship — our 
ancient friendship that was sealed with the blood of France 
— for your son." Continuing, I said, " I will go to the 
United States. I will leave by the very first steamer, and 
learn for myself what the situation is — what is the feeling 
of the people, and what is the power of the Government. I 
will go directly to Washington and see Mr. Lincoln and Mr. 
Seward, and I will report to you the exact truth, whether 
they believe and have reason to believe that the end of the 
war is not far off." And I entreated his Majesty to sus- 
pend all action until I could report to him what I might 
learn about the war by personal observation and inquiry. 

The Emperor, who had listened to me without saying a 
word, when I had finished speaking said, " Well, Evans, 
go! I shall be pleased to hear from you and to get your 
impressions and opinions, and " — smiling as he spoke — " I 
don't think I shall recognize the Southern Confederacy 
until you have had an opportunity of communicating to 
me the results of your visit. ' ' 

Accordingly I left Paris, with Mrs. Evans, on the 11th 
of August, for Liverpool, where the following Saturday 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 131 

we embarked on the China for New York, which port we 
reached ten days later — August 23d. 

After a brief visit to my family I proceeded to the 
Capital, where I was received by Mr. Seward, Secretary 
of State. I told him the object of my visit was to learn 
the true state of affairs with respect to the rebellion, and 
whether there was any prospect of a speedy termination 
of the war. I was astonished to find Mr. Seward rather 
gloomy and dispirited. He said things looked bad. I was 
introduced to other members of the Cabinet, and found 
that they also were feeling very uneasy. I was the more 
surprised at this feeling, as the fall of Atlanta had just 
been announced. 

It was not, however, so much the military situation as 
the political outlook that was troubling them. A Presi- 
dential election was to take place in November. The 
Democratic party had pronounced the war to be a failure ; 
and, with this as the issue before the people, had nomi- 
nated General McClellan as their candidate for the Presi- 
dency. Mr. Lincoln was again the candidate of the Repub- 
lican party for that office; but his reelection was by no 
means certain, and his defeat would have been disastrous 
to the cause of the Union. 

I was received afterward by President Lincoln, whom 
I had met at his home some years before — having been 
introduced to him at Springfield, in the year 1860, before 
he was elected President, but after his nomination. Re- 
membering my former visit to him, he greeted me with 
much affability and spoke of that meeting, and of persons 
both of us knew. When I told him what I had come to 
America for, he seemed much pleased, and said I would be 
given every opportunity to see for myself, and Avould be 
supplied with all possible information concerning the 
situation. 

I informed the President of my efforts to convince the 
Emperor that the North would succeed in suppressing 



132 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

the Rebellion ; and related to him how his Majesty was 
pressed on every side to acknowledge the Southern Con- 
federacy, how I had told him that such recognition could 
only lead to complications which might prove disastrous, 
and that I had entreated him to suspend any action in this 
direction until I could lay before him the facts as they 
appeared to Americans who were on the ground, and were 
most familiar with the conditions of the contest, and most 
competent to forecast its result. 

I had a long conversation with Mr. Lincoln on this 
occasion; but before the interview ended Mr. Seward 
joined us, and I was furnished by these eminent men with 
information that gave me a very clear insight into the 
situation from the official or governmental point of view. 
Mr. Lincoln was in much the better spirits and the more 
sanguine — summing up his forecast of coming events in 
his homely way as follows: " Well, I guess we shall be 
able to pull through; it may take some time. But we 
shall succeed, 1 think, ' ' with an emphasis on the last words 
that was significant. 

It was then proposed that I should go to City Point 
and see General Grant. It was thought that a visit to 
the head-quarters of the Army of the Potomac, then engaged 
in siege operations in front of Petersburg and Richmond, 
might supply me with some of the special facts I was in 
search of, and prove an object-lesson of great value to me 
in the accomplishment of my mission. 

Arrangements were accordingly made for me to go to 
City Point on a " transport," the only means of convey- 
ance that could be had. And so, after having been pro- 
vided with letters of introduction and the necessary passes, 
on the morning of the 4th of September, accompanied 
by Mrs, Evans, my niece, and her husband, I sailed for 
Hampton Roads. The great heat compelled us to remain 
on deck; the boat was crowded with troops going to the 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 133 

front; and the mosquitoes, the noise and the confusion, 
and the want of beds made the night one of the most 
disagreeable I ever experienced. 

Arriving at Norfolk the next morning, I saw for the 
first time the ruin and desolation wrought by the war. 
The town was full of soldiers and " contrabands," and 
nothing was going on but what related in some way to 
the war. Finding that I should be obliged to leave Mrs. 
Evans and my niece in this place, I obtained for them, 
after much searching, lodgings with a private family. 
The food was coarse and badly cooked, and my wife and 
niece occupied a room in the garret that during the day 
was intolerably hot, and where, at night, they were nearly 
suffocated. This I learned afterward; for before noon I 
left Norfolk and, taking a boat at Fortress Monroe, arrived 
at General Grant's headquarters in the evening of the 
same day. 

The General received me in a simple, off-hand way; 
invited me to dine with him; and made me as comfort- 
able as could be expected in time of war and in camp. 
I explained the object of my mission, and he seemed 
pleased that I had come to see him and learn for myself 
how things were going on. I found the General delight- 
ful in conversation. As he was much occupied during the 
day, our talks were principally in the evening — after his 
colored boy had made up a large fire in front of his tent; 
for although the days were hot, the evenings were cool and 
damp, and the fire kept off the mosquitoes. Then it was 
that the General took his seat in a camp-chair before the 
burning logs, with his staff about him, and also his visi- 
tors, of whom there were almost always a number at head- 
quarters. Throwing his leg over the arm of his chair, 
after having lighted a cigar, the General was ready for 
a talk. 

We discussed not only questions relating to the war, 
but all sorts of subjects, political, social, and personal. I 



134 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

was astonished to find the commander of so large an army, 
who had already shown extraordinary talent and had 
gained great victories, was one of the most simple-minded of 
men. Of what was passing in Europe and in other parts 
of the world he was almost utterly ignorant. Concerning 
the French Empire, its government, and its economical 
and social life, he had not the slightest idea. But he never 
seemed tired of hearing about the Emperor and the Court. 
The Empress, her beauty, and her never-failing kindness 
to Americans interested him greatly; and it delighted him 
to have me dwell upon the attractions and pleasures of 
Paris, On one occasion he remarked : ' ' When I have got 
through with this war that we have on hand, I hope to 
go abroad and see for myself all these beautiful things. 
I shall want rest; my only fear is that I cannot afford it, 
for I am not rich, and I am afraid I shall be obliged to 
wait a long time before I can go over to see you, and enjoy 
all these things we have spoken about." 

I replied : ' ' Why, General, when you have finished the 
war, as you seem to be sure you will, to the satisfaction 
of your country and the Government that placed you in 
command, the people will put you up for President; and, 
if so, I have no doubt you will be elected. ' ' 

Seeming to hesitate for a moment, he said: " This I 
doubt, and shall never consent to. I may be successful 
as a military man, but I know nothing of politics. I never 
voted but once in my life, and then I made a mistake. I 
never interested myself in politics. Once when I was 
going home, after taking a load of wood into town, my 
friends met me and insisted that I should vote, as it was 
election day. I was persuaded to do so, and threw my vote 
for Mr. Buchanan; and that, as you see, was a mistake." 

* ' But, General, other men have risen to the Presidency, 
having had no more experience in political matters than 
yourself. Each of our wars has produced a President — 
Washington, Jackson, Taylor " 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 135 

" No," he replied, " I had rather go abroad and see 
something of the Old World." 

He was very positive about the final result of the war. 
He was frank and unreserved in giving his opinions, and 
freely expressed to me his hopes. He impressed me with 
his sincerity, his simplicity, and at the same time his en- 
tire confidence in himself. On my asking him when he 
thought the war would be brought to a close, he said: 
" Not until we get rid of some of these political generals. 
It is these men who have kept us so long from putting an 
end to the war." 

During my visit he had long interviews with General 
Butler. He criticized the works at Bermuda Hundred as 
designed and carried on by General Butler; and made no 
secret of his dissatisfaction with much that was done by 
political generals, as he called them. 

One day, when General Butler was dining with us. 
General Grant incjuired of him what he was doing over 
at Bermuda Hundred; he asked him about the canal he 
was cutting, and many other questions concerning what 
was passing at his head-quarters. General Butler invited 
him to come over and see for himself. Accordingly, the 
next day, General Grant, with his staff, set out to visit 
the camps around Richmond, and he invited me to accom- 
pany him. The General rode a big bay horse, and he 
offered me for this excursion the black mare that, as he 
told me, he had taken from the farm of Jefferson Davis 
in ]\Iississippi, after the surrender of Vicksburg. A very 
excellent riding horse she was, and the General set much 
store by her. I was afterward told that it was a great 
favor for him to lend this mare to any one. 

We visited Generals Meade, Hancock, Butler, and 
others, riding along almost in sight of the city. We were 
so near that we could see the Confederate pickets, some 
of whom were reading newspapers ; and occasionally a shot 
came hurtling over our heads. The General never seemed 



136 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

to think his life was in danger. While visiting the works 
that had been constructed by order of General Butler, he 
looked from behind the earthen defenses, and at times 
exposed himself so much, that his ol^cers called his atten- 
tion to the risk he was running. Yet he was not a fool- 
hardy man. 

We dined at the camp or head-quarters of General Han- 
cock, and I was much impressed with the military bearing 
of the General. 

While I was at City Point, General Grant had a visit 
from some old friends of his. Among them was Mr. Wash- 
burne, afterward Minister to Paris. The General told us 
that he was having a correspondence with General Sherman 
concerning a movement he was about to make ; and I believe 
I was one of the first persons who knew something of the 
plan of campaign agreed upon.* This march to the sea, 

* Dr. Evans is in error here. And yet his statement is interesting. 
It goes to show that the idea which finally found its realization in the 
"march to the sea " was in the air, so to speak, at the time of his visit 
to the head-quarters of the Army of the Potomac. It was about this 
time that General Grant wrote to Mr. Lincoln and pointed out the im- 
portance of getting behind or "south of the enemy." It was then also 
that he sent to Atlanta an aide-de-camp, Lieutenant-Colonel Porter (now 
General Horace Porter), with a letter and instructions to confer with 
General Sherman, and arrange, if possible, for a combined movement. 
But, in fact, it was as late as October 9th before Sherman seems to have 
seriously thought it would be possible — as he then w^rote — "to move 
through Georgia smashing things, to the sea "; or to say, "I can make 
this march and make Georgia howl." And this opinion was expressed 
only after Hood had moved from Sherman's front, and had occupied or 
threatened his line of communications with Chattanooga. Grant, 
at this time, while most anxious to get "behind the army of Northern 
Virginia," had doubts about making Savannah the objective point of 
the movement, and particularly about cutting loose entirely from 
Atlanta. As late as November 1st, he said in a despatch to Sherman — 
"If you see a chance of destroying Hood's army, attend to that first, 
and make your other move secondary." The very next day, however. 
General Grant consented that Sherman should carry out his plan of 
campaign as he had proposed; and a fortnight later, on the 15th of 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 137 

the getting behind the army of Northern Virginia, seemed 
to Grant the one thing that was needed to bring about the 
end; and he was right in believing it to be so. For, as 
every one knows, Lee's army was finally crushed between 
the columns of Sherman and Grant. 

During my visit to City Point I had an excellent oppor- 
tunity of becoming acquainted with many things connected 
with the maintenance of a great army engaged in actual 
warfare, such as the commissariat, the transport service, 
and the provisions made for the care of the sick and 
wounded. This last subject was one that interested me 
particularly. 

After remaining at General Grant's head-quarters five 
days, I rejoined Mrs. Evans at Norfolk, and we returned 
to Washington. It was not long before I discovered the 
existence of a more hopeful feeling, not only among those 
who directly represented the Government, but generally 
among the people. The capture of Atlanta, by Sherman, 
the final destruction of Early's army by Sheridan in the 
valley of the Shenandoah, the evident collapse of the politi- 
cal plot to put McClellan in the place of Lincoln, these 
things encouraged the Government greatly, and filled the 
minds of the loyal men of the North with hope and confi- 
dence — a confidence that was contagious. 

Very soon feeling, myself, entirely convinced that the 

November, General Sherman began his famous march through Georgia 
from Atlanta to the sea. 

Our recollections of events after the lapse of many years, if some- 
times at fault in matters of detail, often bring back into the light 
important facts that have grown dim with time or have vanished 
altogether from the record. Every act of man must exist as an idea 
before it can exist as a reality. To crush the military power of the 
Confederacy between the two armies of Sherman and Grant was the 
subject on which the hopes and the thoughts of the North were concen- 
trated in the autumn of 1S64. Hood's blunder opened the way and 
made it possible for General Sherman to realize his dream and to turn 
the talk of the camp-fires into one of the most decisive deeds in Ameri- 
can history. 



138 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

end of the war was not far distant, I so informed the Em- 
peror. 

Upon my return to Paris in November, one of the first 
remarks he made to me was : ' ' When the plan of campaign 
arranged between Grant and Sherman was reported to me, 
I saw by my maps that it was the beginning of the end 
{ce fut le commencement de la fin).'^ These were the Em- 
peror's very words. 

How often I have heard him express himself as more 
than satisfied that he had waited and not acted precipitately 
during our great internecine war; for to him the friend- 
ship of the whole United States was important. Yet he 
has suffered severely in American opinion through those 
who believed and gave currency to the false statement that 
he wished to divide us, and to that end had solicited the 
cooperation of the English Government. 

Americans would do well to remember that if the Eng- 
lish Government, represented by Lord Palmerston and Lord 
John Russell, did not intervene during the War of the Re- 
bellion, the principal cause was the personal reluctance of 
the Queen and the Prince Consort to give countenance to 
such a policy. I do not know that there exists any official 
proof of this. But that the neutrality of the English Gov- 
ernment at this time should be attributed to the friendly 
feeling of the Queen towards the cause for which the North- 
ern States were contending, has always been firmly believed 
by the American people. 

Now there can be no question that M. Thouvenel and 
M. Drouyn de Lhuys and other official representatives of 
the Imperial Government were as ready to intervene in 
behalf of the Southern Confederacy as were Lord John 
Russell and his associates. But the Imperial Government 
did not take one single step in that direction. It did not 
recognize the de facto government established at Richmond. 
And to the question, Wliy not? the answer is to be found 
in the fact — for the truth of which I can vouch — that, per- 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 139 

sonally, Napoleon III. shrank, as did Queen Victoria, from 
the thought of actively contributing to the building of a 
great State whose corner-stone vras human slavery. Any 
one who knows anything of the Emperor or of his opinions 
knows that he was seldom in accord with his ministers on 
questions relating to international affairs. This, it may be 
said, was one of the causes of the apparently uncertain and 
indecisive character of the Imperial policy; for there were 
times when, after his IMinister for Foreign Affairs had said 
one thing, the Emperor did not hesitate to say exactly the 
contrary. Therefore, no one need be surprised that, what- 
ever may have been the wishes of his ministers with respect 
to the Southern Confederacy, Napoleon III. should never 
have ceased to be at heart a friend of the North, 

Those persons who, careless of the facts, are in the habit 
of meting out responsibility in accordance with their prej- 
udices and political feelings, and who are guilty of the 
gross injustice of holding Napoleon III. directly responsible 
for public opinion in France during these years, should at 
least be sufficiently open-minded to observe that this opin- 
ion was never exhibited in any act of hostility to the Fed- 
eral Government, either on the land or on the sea. If the 
neutrality of the English Government is generously attrib- 
uted toJ:he personal influence of the Queen, it is but fair 
to give some credit to the Emperor for the neutrality of 
his Government during our Civil War — a neutrality so 
strictly observed that no Alahamas were allowed to escape 
from French ports to destroy our commerce. 

And yet in these later years I have often wondered that 
the Emperor did not recognize the Southern Confederacy. 
It would have been entirely in accordance with our own 
international policy, which has been, and is, to recognize 
every de facto Government without regard to its origin, 
and without waiting to become assured of its stability. 
Within forty-eight hours after the Paris mob had set up a 
Government at the Hotel de Ville, this Government was 



140 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

officially recognized by Mr. Washburne, the American Min- 
ister accredited to the Court of the Tuileries. 

If there be any Americans Avho are still inclined to 
resent the attitude they believe Napoleon III. to have as- 
sumed toward our country during the War of the Seces- 
sion, it is well that they should be reminded of our own 
public policy in similar eases ; and more than this, if they 
would be just, that they should consider how much — and 
to his everlasting credit — the Emperor resisted when de- 
clining to recognize the Southern Confederacy. No real 
friend of the Federal Government could have been expected 
to do more.* 

I have not here to speak of the attempt to establish 
an empire in Mexico, nor yet to be its apologist. This 
unfortunate affair into which the Emperor allowed himself 
to be drawn, partly by unwise friends and partly by inter- 
ested counselors, went far to give Americans the right to 
believe that he bore us no good-will. It may be well, how- 
ever, before pronouncing a harsh judgment, to remember 
the condition of Mexico, suffering from chronic revolution, 
repudiating its debts and international obligations, and, at 
the time, in a state of absolute anarchy. Many European 
Powers hoped to see a responsible, stable Government es- 
tablished under Maximilian. The Emperor's motives were 
good and his action well meant ; only he did not sufficiently 
take into account the very great difficulties that would have 
to be met and overcome at home, as well as abroad, in order 
to succeed in an attempt to create a new empire on the 
American continent. 

* In a private letter written to General James Watson Webb in 
March, 1863, when referring to this war, the Emperor says: "As 
regards the war which desolates your country, I profoundly regret it; for 
I do not see how and when it will end, and it is not to the interest of 
France that the United States should be weakened by a struggle with- 
out any good results possible. In a country as sensible as America, 
it is not by arms that domestic quarrels should be settled, but by votes, 
meetings, and assemblies." 



THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 141 

The Emperor was deeply moved by the news of the 
assassination of President Lincoln and Mr. Seward — for it 
was at first reported that IMr, Seward had been killed also. 
He was, however, not inclined to attribute to this act any 
political significance. " The war ended," he said, " with 
the capitulation of General Lee, and the act, consequently, 
having no rational purpose, must be regarded as that of a 
political fanatic. Such men are to be found in all countries 
and as ready to strike at those who represent the sovereignty 
of the people as at those who claim to rule by Divine right." 
The Empress, also, was greatly shocked when she was in- 
formed of this dreadful affair, and wrote to Mrs. Lincoln 
a private letter in which she expressed the sincere sympathy 
she felt for her in her bereavement under such tragic cir- 
cumstances. 

And here I may say that her Majesty took a most 
lively interest in the progress of the War of the Secession 
from its very beginning. Not that she cared to hear about 
the battles and sieges, and the exploits of armies and com- 
manders, but she was deeply concerned to know what was 
being done to alleviate the immense amount of suffering 
inevitable from diseases and wounds in a war carried on 
over such a vast and thinly inhabited country and on such 
a scale. As early as 1862 — about the time General Mc- 
Clellan opened the campaign that came to its close at Har- 
rison's Landing on the James River — she asked me if I 
could furnish her with any information respecting the pro- 
visions that had been made by our Government for the care 
of the sick and wounded; and more particularly to what 
extent, if any, voluntary aid was supplementing the official 
service. Having inquired into this matter I explained to 
her Majesty how the medical service of the United States 
Army was organized; and informed her that a Sanitary 
Commission had been created, unofficial in character but 
recognized by the Government, the object of which was to 
inspect the camps and hospitals, bring to the notice of the 
11 



142 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

proper authorities any neglect or want therein, and direct 
the distribution of voluntary assistance, whether in the 
form of material gifts or personal service. I told her that 
the people of the North had responded most generously to i 
the calls for contributions issued by the Commission; that 
its agents were working harmoniously with the regular 
medical staff ; and that never before in any army had such i 
large provision been made for the sanitation of the troops ; 
while in camp and the care of the sick and wounded. The ■ 
Empress asked me to write out what I had told her about 
this Commission, which I did. A few days afterward I 
received from her the following letter: 

[translation] 

Paris, May mth, 1862. 
** Dr. Thomas W. Evans, 

' ' Sir : In reply to your letter, I thank you for the infor- 
mation which you have given me with respect to the organ- 
ization and the work of the United States Sanitary Com- 
mission. 

" This institution interests me very greatly, and I love to i 
think that it will not be long before many associations, ani- 
mated as this one is by the spirit of charity and humanity, 
will be organized everywhere to give succor to the wounded I 
and the sick — to friends and enemies alike. 
" Believe me, 

" Yours very sincerely, 

" Eugenie." 

It was through the encouragement I received from her rj 
Majesty, perhaps more than from any other person, that t' 
I was induced to prepare a work on the United States Sani- • 
tary Commission, which was published in French, in 1865, > 
under the title of "La Commission Sanitaire des Etats- 
TJnis; son origine, son organisation, et ses resultats." 



CHAPTER V 

THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF FRANCE 

The importance of the works of Napoleon III. — He created modern 
Paris; its parks and water-works; its public buildings — Provincial 
cities reconstructed — Roads and railways extended — Credit insti- 
tutions founded — Commercial treaties made — The increase of 
capital; of trade — The interest of the Emperor in the lodgings of 
artizans and the sanitation of cities — What the Emperor did for 
agriculture — His interest in the welfare of the industrial classes — 
How he came to the relief of the people at the time of the great 
inundations — The Exposition of 1867 — A dreadful picture of 
moral corruption — The greatest work of Napoleon III. 

5A.P0LE0N III. by most political and historical 
writers is not criticized, but calumniated. If 
his reign had ended successfully, his personal 
qualities would have exalted him to the skies; 
but since his career was destroyed by a reverse of fortune, 
his faults have been monstrously exaggerated, and few wri- 
ters have endeavored to remind the world of his public 
virtues and accomplishments. While, unfortunately, peo- 
ple in general are more inclined to listen to what is said 
about great men than to see and appreciate what is done 
by them, it is curious to notice that the purely dramatic 
and spectacular elements in the lives of the two Napoleons, 
as persons, have been of such absorbing interest as to make 
us almost insensible of the importance of the really great 
constructive works relating to the administration of civil 
affairs, upon which imperishable foundation the reputation 
of both, as sovereigns, must ultimately rest. 

143 




144 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

I have already set forth with some particularity the 
traits of the Emperor's character that were most strongly 
impressed upon me during the long period of my personal 
relations with him; and I shall probably have occasion to 
refer to them again in the desultory way that reminis- 
cences permit, and as the events and incidents of the 
narrative may suggest. But I should not feel that I had 
done justice to Napoleon III. if I failed, in my description 
of the man, to refer to his merits as a ruler, and made 
no mention of his work as an upbuilder of the nation. I 
shall therefore, in this chapter, submit to the reader's con- 
sideration a few facts that ought not to be overlooked or 
forgotten, and which, I trust, will be sufficient to prove 
that the Emperor not only cherished in his mind noble and 
generous ideas and purposes, but that he actually did a 
great deal for the welfare of his people and for the glory 
of France. 

Baron Haussmann, the Prefect of the Seine, when he 
heard some one express admiration for the magnificent 
results obtained as the work of reconstructing and embel- 
lishing the city of Paris progressed, used to say: '' It was 
the Emperor who marked out all this. I have only been 
his collaborator." 

And if the " Great Baron " recognized the directing 
mind and the will that created modern Paris, the Emperor 
himself always most generously acknowledged his obliga- 
tion to this able and most devoted collaborator. 

In 1858, on the occasion of the inauguration of the 
Boulevard Sebastopol, the Emperor said: " When suc- 
ceeding generations shall traverse our great city, not only 
will they acquire a taste for the beautiful, from the spec- 
tacle of these works of art, but, in reading the names 
inscribed upon our bridges and our streets, they ^vill recall 
to themselves the glory of our armies — from Rivoli to Sebas- 
topol. All these grand results I owe to the cooperation of 
the Legislative Body, who, renouncing all provincial self- 



i 



INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 145 



ishness, have learned that a country like France should 
have a capital worthy of itself, and have not hesitated to 
grant the sums which the Government has solicited. I 
owe them also to the enlightened cooperation of the Munici- 
pal Council. But especially do I owe their prompt and 
judicious execution to the intelligent magistrate whom I 
have placed at the head of the Department of the Seine, 
who, while maintaining in the finances of the city an order 
worthy of all praise, has been able in so short a time to 
complete enterprises so numerous, and that in the midst 
of obstacles incessantly arising from the spirit of routine 
and disparagement." 

M. Maxime du Camp says: " If, by a fairy's wand, the 
Paris of the time of the Revolution of February could be 
brought back and exhibited to the modern world, people 
would wonder how a race which loves luxury so much as 
the Parisians do, could have lived in such a pestilential 
and unhealthy city as the French capital was before Na- 
poleon III., with the assistance of his intelligent Prefect 
Haussmann, changed Paris into the attractive place of 
residence which it has now become."* 

The filthy and dangerous lanes of the Montague Sainte- 
Genevieve, and the ugly wine-shops near the Arc de Tri- 
omphe, were, to use an expression of the author mentioned, 
" the plague-spots " through which the Emperor drew his 
pencil, erecting in their place broad streets and handsome 
boulevards. The whole city was reconstructed upon a 
grand plan. The special aim of the Emperor was to make 
the several quarters of his capital beautiful, and at the 
same time healthy, by changing the general style of the 
buildings, and by establishing a great number of public 
gardens and promenades, where the children and the aged 
and infirm could enjoy the benefit of the fresh air and 
the sun. For if the West End of Paris had its Bois de 

* " Paris, ses Organes, ses Fonctions et sa vie." Paris, Hachette et 
Cie.. 1875. 



146 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Boulogne, to the East Side, the artisan quarter of the 
capital, was given the Bois de Vineennes, the disposition 
of whose spacious grounds, with their broad avenues, su- 
perb trees, grassy lawns and fountains, and magnificent 
vistas, compels the admiration of every one. Nor should 
we forget to mention the Buttes-Chaumont, that exquisite 
little park opened in Belleville, in the slums of the city, 
which, as a work of art, is the most beautiful of all the 
Paris parks, and yet is so seldom seen by the foreign visitor. 

For the same purpose the splendid sewers of Paris were 
constructed, which are the admiration of foreigners as well 
as of Parisians, and which by their extent alone create 
astonishment; for even in the year 1869 they were 518 
kilometers (over 300 miles) in length. 

In the year 1852 the city was not able to distribute 
more than 105,000 cubic meters of water per day, while 
under the Empire the water-works were so improved that, 
in the year 1869, 538,000 cubic meters were furnished daily. 
But this was not all. As late as the year 1866, the water 
used by the inhabitants of Paris, even for domestic pur- 
poses, was taken almost entirely from the Seine and the 
river Marne. It was impossible to preserve it from pollu- 
tion, and consequently typhoid was endemic in the city 
and the death-rate was high. The serious defects and the 
absolute inadequacy of the system employed to supply 
Paris with water, and especially with potable water, were 
frequently pointed out. But the great majority of Pari- 
sians would appear to have accepted as definitive the pro- 
nouncement of the hygienist Parmentier, the discoverer of 
the potato, who declared, in 1787, that " the water of the 
Seine unites all the qualities which could be desired to 
make it agreeable to the palate, light in the stomach, and 
favorable to digestion; and the Parisians are not wrong 
if they never end their eulogies of the Seine, and if they 
contend with assurance that its waters are the best of all 
waters." In the presence of such a prejudice, and in view 



INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 147 

of the prevailing ignorance with respect to sanitary mat- 
ters, it is not surprising that practically nothing was done 
to improve a situation that was becoming constantly more 
and more dangerous to the public health, until the Em- 
peror took up the subject of supplying Paris with drink- 
ing-water from uncontaminated sources. For this special 
purpose work was begun in 1864, and the aqueduct of the 
Dhuis was completed in 1866, at a cost of 18,000,000 francs ; 
it was 131 kilometers in length, and brought into the city 
25,000 cubic meters of water daily. 

But in the meantime the ravages of the cholera, in 
1865, had again drawn the attention of hygienists to the 
insufficiency of the water supply, and two years later the 
construction of the aqueduct of the Vanne was begun. This 
great work was finished at a cost of 52,000,000 francs; it 
was 173 kilometers in length, and provided Paris daily with 
120,000 cubic meters of spring-water of excellent quality. 

The beauty of several of the public buildings erected 
by the late Emperor is an attraction and a delight to every 
visitor of Paris. But few Parisians even have any idea of 
the very large number of these buildings, or of the number 
of the great monumental constructions that were built in 
Paris during his reign; for as far as possible the Govern- 
ment of the Republic has carefully obliterated every name 
inscribed upon them, and every emblem they bore indica- 
tive of their origin. I shall therefore remind the reader 
that it was Napoleon III. who connected the Louvre with 
the Tuileries, who built the churches of Saint Augustin, 
La Trinite, Sainte-Clotilde, Saint Joseph, Saint Ambroise, 
Saint Eugene, Notre Dame-des-Champs, Saint Pierre do 
Mont Rouge, and many others ; that it was he who erected 
or restored the splendid edifices of the new Palais de Jus- 
tice, the Tribunal de Commerce, the Hotel Dieu, the Grand 
Opera, the Halles Centrales, and the Temple; that it was 
he who built the great bridges over the Seine, the Pont 
Napoleon III., the Pont de Bercy, the Pont d 'Areola, the 



148 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Pont Notre Dame, the Pont au Change, the Pont au Double, 
the Petit Pont, the Pont Louis Philippe, the Pont Saint 
Michel, the Pont de Solferino, the Pont des Invalides, the 
Pont d'Alma, and the Pont d'Auteuil; that it vvas he who 
surrounded the parks and the gardens with their gilded 
railings and erected their great entrance gates, and who 
adorned the French capital with fountains and statues and 
a hundred other ornamental structures. 

On account of the interest which the Emperor took in 
the arts and sciences, the collections of the Louvre were 
quadrupled; the so-called Campagne Galleries were pur- 
chased; the " Union Centrale des Beaux- Arts appliques a 
rindustrie " was founded; the Musee d'Artillerie received 
rich additions ; in the old Palace of Saint Germain the well- 
known archaeological museum was created; the Musee de 
Cluny and the Tour Saint Jacques were restored ; the Hotel 
Carnavelet was changed into a museum for a collection of 
the antiquities of the city of Paris; the Imperial Library 
received some very valuable additions; and the Biblio- 
theque Sainte-Genevieve was thrown open to the public. 

In fact, the city of Paris, as it appears to the visitor 
to-day, was created by Napoleon III. ; for whatever public 
improvements have been made, since 1870, have been exe- 
cuted only to complete the original plan of the Emperor 
and his famous Prefect of the Seine.* 

" Victor Hugo," says Blanchard Jerrold in his " Life 
of Napoleon the Third," " dwells in a fashionable quarter 
of Paris, his beloved city, which had no existence when he 
went into exile. He tells every foreign visitor who calls 
on him that there have been three cities of the world — 
Athens, Rome, Paris; but when he says ' Paris-Urbs,' he 
forgets the sovereign who made her what she is, and laid 

* This statement was absolutely true when it was written ; and, 
excepting the improvements made in connection with the Exposition 
of 1900, among which the " Metropolitan " subway should be included, 
is true now, in 1905. 



INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 149 

the foundation of that matchless city of the future, which, 
according to him, will have the Arc de Triomphe for its 
center. ' ' 

It should be remembered, also, that these great public 
works were constructed not merely during the Imperial 
regime, but at the suggestion, and frequently by the com- 
mand, of the Emperor himself; that they were, in a word, 
something more than the products of the general social 
demands and industrial activities and forces of the period. 
It is impossible to deny this. Who has not heard of the 
" Comptes fantastiques d'Haussmann "? Indeed, the op- 
position to nearly all these improvements, on the ground 
of their uselessness and extravagance, was so noisy and 
so general, while they were being executed, that its echoes 
are still to be heard whenever questions concerning public 
works in the city of Paris are under discussion in the 
Municipal Council or in the Chamber of Deputies. 

But while these improvements and embellishments of 
the capital, were being made, the provincial cities, and the 
picturesque nooks and corners even, of the Empire were 
not neglected. Lord Malmesbury, writing in 1863, says: 
" I stopped a day at Carcassonne, an ancient city so fa- 
mous for the desperate fighting of the Albigeois and the 
deeds of Simon de Montfort. The Emperor has had the 
city and fortifications restored exactly to the state they 
were in at this time; the streets are just wide enough for 
a cart to pass, and the towers and battlements are what they 
were in the thirteenth century. In every part of France he 
is making archaeological restorations, and his active mind 
seems as much interested in this pursuit as it is in politics ; 
but," he adds significantly, " as far as I can observe, the 
French do not appreciate his efforts as they deserve." 

In the meantime the whole country was greatly bene- 
fited by works constructed with direct reference to the 
development of the national resources ; and by the estab- 



150 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

lishment or enlargement of public institutions, the creation 
of technical schools and reformations in the universities. 

In order to facilitate communication throughout the 
Empire, 26,846 kilometers of macadamized roads were 
made, many rivers were rendered navigable, ports were 
improved, and the docks of Cherbourg were finished. 

The shipping employed in commerce, and especially 
that portion of it which was engaged in the coasting-trade, 
was considerably increased in tonnage and greatly im- 
proved; while the navy, that had previously consisted of 
wooden sailing-vessels, was transformed into a fleet of arm- 
ored steamships. 

The railways were extended over the whole of France; 
and in 1869 the total length of these roads amounted to 
23,900 kilometers. The new system of telegraphy was in- 
augurated and rapidly developed. 

In order to free property from the burden of debts 
and to encourage industry, numerous credit institutions 
were founded, among them the well-known Credit Foncier. 
And when the Government wished to borrow money, it did 
not address itself simply to the great bankers, but gave a 
chance of profit to persons having little capital, by raising 
the loan through public subscriptions. In 1847 the public 
funds were in the hands of 207,000 persons, two-thirds of 
whom were living in Paris. In 1854 the number of holders 
of these funds had increased to 664,000, more than half of 
whom were living in the Departments. This diffusion 
among the people of the securities of the State was evidence 
not only of increasing general prosperity, but of public 
confidence in the stability of the Government. 

In 1860 the commercial treaty with England gave to 
France the benefits of freer trade; and some years later 
similar treaties were concluded with other countries, and 
the commerce of the Empire increased largely. 

As the colonies were included in the provisions of these 
treaties, and the markets of the world were thus opened 



INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 151 

to them, they were enabled to extend their trade with for- 
eign countries, and to share in the benefits derived by the 
mother country from the liberal and enlightened commer- 
cial policy of the Imperial Government. 

Paris, especially, felt the stimulating influence of this 
policy. Not only was its industrial output enormously in- 
creased, but property rose in value on every side. In 1847 
the manufactures of the city represented a value of but 
1,500,000,000 francs ; in 1869 their value was over 6,000,- 
000,000. And while the land within the limits of the city, 
together with the buildings, in 1851, was taxed on an esti- 
mated value of 2,557,000,000 francs, in 1869 it was rated 
at 5,957,000,000 francs. 

In 1851 the revenues of the city amounted to 52,000,000 
francs, and already in 1867 they had been increased to 
151,000,000 francs. 

The improvements affecting trade in general under the 
Empire were such that the exports and imports, which 
represented, in 1848, a value of 1,645,000,000 francs, had 
increased in 1857 to 4,593,000,000 francs, and in 1869 to 
6,228,000,000 francs. In 1850 the per capita Avealth of the 
nation was estimated at about 2,500 francs ; it had reached 
nearly double that sum in 1870. In a word, France en- 
joyed, during a period of eighteen years, unbounded and 
unbroken industrial prosperity.* 

Just as the Empress paid especial attention to the needs 
of the poor and the sick, so the Emperor devoted much 
time to the consideration of ways and means for amelio- 
rating the situation of the working classes. 

* By one of those chances of dramatic injustice only too common in 
the world of affairs, by which one man reaps where another man has 
sown, the credit which justly attaches to this great increase in the 
national wealth has been given not to Napoleon III., but to M. Thiers, 
to whose financial ability is attributed the extraordinary facility and 
rapidity with which the enormous war ransom demanded by Prince 
Bismarck was paid off by tlie French Republic. 



152 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

The sanitary conditions obtaining in the houses and 
lodgings of the great majority of laborers and artisans 
seemed to him to be exceedingly defective. He accordingly 
caused numerous model lodging-houses, as well as model 
dwellings for single families, to be constructed, and finally 
introduced into France the English Building Society sys- 
tem. In the year 1859 he contributed 100,000 francs tow- 
ards the improvement of houses for workmen in Lille ; and 
similar gifts were made for the same purpose to the mu- 
nicipalities of Amiens, Bayonne, and other cities. In the 
year 1864 the sum of 1,500,000 francs was expended by 
the Emperor in building 180 workmen's houses; and in 
1867-68 he built 42 model houses for working people at 
Daumesnil. 

Sanitary science, we may unhesitatingly say, was, pre- 
vious to 1852, scarcely known in France outside of Paris; 
and nearly all the improvements which have since been 
made in the sanitary condition of French cities were begun 
not only under the reign, but at the instance and direction, 
of Napoleon III. His Government voted, in 1852, the sum 
of 10,000,000 francs for the purpose of improving the pub- 
lic health of manufacturing towns; and the Emperor sel- 
dom visited any of the cities of France without making 
inquiries with respect to the water supply, drainage, over- 
crowding, and all those matters that concern the health of 
the inhabitants of cities, or without impressing upon the 
municipal authorities the importance, and the necessity 
even, of having in the construction and the administra- 
tion of public works a strict regard for the requirements 
of sanitary science. 

But it was not the inhabitants of cities only whose 
fortunes were improved, whose opportunities were en- 
larged, and who were benefited in many ways by the care 
of the French monarch. He paid great attention to agri- 
culture and its improvement, and was always deeply in- 
terested in all public measures the object of which was 



INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 153 

to advance the interests of the tillers of the soil. In the 
year 1852 he established in every arrondissement agricul- 
tural associations; he also encouraged agricultural exhibi- 
tions by rich donations. On the 10th of June, 1854, he 
introduced a law for facilitating the draining of marshes, 
and a credit of 100,000,000 francs was opened, from which 
farmers and land-owners could borrow capital to drain 
their lands, with the privilege of repaying their loans in 
instalments extending over a period of twenty-five years. 

Model farms were erected in many parts of the French 
Empire; and vast tracts of country, which, previously 
covered with sand-dunes, had been entirely barren, and 
moors and fens uninhabited on account of malaria, were 
transformed into productive forests, healthy territories, 
rich corn-fields, and beautiful gardens. 

The endeavors of Napoleon III. to improve the condi- 
tion of the poor and to help them in their misfortunes, 
were once knoM^n all over France; at present, however, 
the world seems to have forgotten them. The time he gave 
to the study of questions concerning the welfare of the 
masses of the people, and more particularly of the in- 
dustrial classes, is truly remarkable. It was a subject 
that was never out of his mind. A paper on the means 
of relieving the situation of aged and necessitous work- 
ing men, without having recourse to public charity, written 
in his own hand, was found at the Tuileries, bearing the 
date of July 5, 1870. And six years before — in 1864 — 
he gave instructions that the Opera House which was being 
erected in Paris should not be finished until the Hotel 
Dieu, the great central hospital of the city, had been built 
and its wards opened to the public. The Emperor felt 
that human life was worth more to the State than the 
most splendid products of art, and that it was the duty 
of a sovereign to satisfy the wants and assuage the suf- 
ferings of his people before providing for their pleasures 
and amusements. ' ' Admitting, ' ' he says, ' ' that this ar- 



154 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

rangement has no practical advantage, from a moral point 
of view I hold it important that the edifice to be devoted 
to pleasure shall not be raised before the shelter for suf- 
fering. " 

At the time of the disastrous floods that ravaged the 
valleys of the Loire and the Rhone, invading Orleans, 
Blois, Tours, Lyons, Aries, Orange, Avignon, and scores 
of other cities, sweeping away houses, turning the streets 
into canals, covering the country for miles around with 
great lakes — a catastrophe involving not only the loss of 
many lives but the destruction of a vast amount of prop- 
erty — the Emperor came to the relief of his unfortunate 
people promptly and most generously. Six hundred thou- 
sand francs from his own private purse he gave them at 
once to meet the most pressing individual needs. And 
this sum was greatly increased by the gifts made in the 
name of the Empress and the Prince Imperial. Sub- 
sequently 2,000,000 francs were granted by the Chambers 
to assist the sufferers from those inundations. 

But the interest of the Emperor in this great calamity 
was not limited to a benevolent desire to supply the 
immediate wants of those who had lost everything they 
possessed. He wished to see for himself just what had 
taken place, how it had happened, and what could be 
done to prevent a repetition of the disaster. With this 
object in view, he visited personally the departments that 
were the scene of the calamity, wading in the water or 
being rowed in a boat for miles across the inundated fields. 
Then he directed that a detailed report of the damage 
caused by the floods should be prepared, together with 
plans for the construction of the works necessary to keep 
the waters of the two rivers between their banks. The 
letter he wrote from Plombieres shortly after, in July, 
1856, to his Minister of Public Works, is no less remark- 
able on account of the extraordinary knowledge it shows 
the Emperor possessed of the technical details of hydraulic 



INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 155 

engineering, than for the earnestness with which he urges 
the minister to set about this particular work at once, on 
the spot, and not suffer it to end in talk and " luminous 
reports. ' ' 

And if now, for more than forty years, no similar dis- 
asters have occurred in the valleys of the Loire and the 
Rhone, it is not because the rains have become less tor- 
rential there, but because, in accordance with the wishes, 
and, I might almost say, under the personal direction 
of the Emperor, provisions were made and works were 
constructed at the danger points which have proved suf- 
ficient to prevent any considerable overflow of the waters 
of these rivers. 

The Exposition of 1867 was a brilliant, if transient, 
representation of the work accomplished in France since 
1855, in nearly every field of human interest and activity, 
in the sciences, the arts, in morals, in politics, and in 
charity. All the nations of the world were invited to 
participate in this great festival, and by their presence 
to crown the efforts of labor with the idea of conciliation 
and peace. Its success was immense and well-deserved. 
The international exhibitions of later years have been 
" bigger," but not one of them has been so admirably or- 
ganized, so proportionate in its several parts, so perfectly 
fitted to facilitate those comparative studies of the ma- 
terials, conditions, methods, and products exhibited, which 
increase the sum of useful knowledge and extend the bene- 
fits of civilization to distant communities. Nor has any 
similar international assembly ever contributed more ef- 
fectively to establish a feeling of respect for each other, 
and relations of concord and amity among the rulers of 
the world. This was the supreme purpose of the Exposi- 
tion of 1867. It was an impressive manifestation of the 
Imperial will that the sword was to be no longer the in- 
strument upon which France relied for the maintenance 
of her prestige and influence among the nations. On the 



156 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

occasion of the distribution of awards on the 1st of July 
— one of the most magnificent ceremonies which it was 
ever my privilege to witness — the Emperor closed his ad- 
dress with these words : 

" May those who have lived a little while among us 
carry back with them a just opinion of our country; let 
them be persuaded that we entertain sentiments of esteem 
and sympathy for foreign nations, and that we sincerely 
desire to live in peace with them. This Exposition will 
mark, I hope, a new era of harmony and progress. Con- 
vinced, as I am, that Providence blesses the efforts of all 
those who wish to do well, as we do, I believe in the 
definitive triumph of the great principles of morality and 
justice, which, satisfying all legitimate aspirations, are able 
alone to consolidate thrones, lift up the people, and en- 
noble humanity." 

It has often been said that the Exposition of 1867 
marked the apogee of the Imperial power. All eyes were 
then turned towards France; never had such a concourse 
of distinguished visitors, princes, kings, and emperors 
assembled in the capital of a foreign State to pay homage 
to its sovereigns. But it marked also, in an extraordinary 
manner, the progress that had been made by the people 
under the Empire, materially and socially; for never be- 
fore had the industrial forces and artistic genius of France 
been exhibited with such splendor and effect. 

But some one may ask : While all these things may have 
been done by the Emperor, has not the whole period of 
the Empire often been characterized by contemporary 
writers as one preeminently devoted to the cultivation 
of material interests, to inordinate speculation, luxury, 
and immorality? It certainly has been. And the bill 
of indictment reads as follows : * ' The commercial and 
industrial activity of this epoch, and the over-stimulation 
which it gives to all the material appetites, have resulted 
in a frightful competition, the most shocking forms of 



INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT 157 

stock-jobbing, and a love of dollars more impudent and 
brazen-faced than under the Regency or the Directory. 
To get money without work, by the shortest cuts, to invent 
ways of speculating on the credulity of the public, to find 
dupes; in a word, to transact business, is the sole thought 
and occupation of the most influential part of the popula- 
tion, of a society brilliant and corrupt, as destitute of 
belief as of feeling, and that knows only material pleas- 
ures and the enjoyments of luxury." 

This is the dreadful picture which has been drawn of 
the decadence and moral corruption that existed under 
the Empire. No, I am mistaken. These words were used 
in describing the state of things under the government 
of Louis Philippe and his austere minister, M. Guizot.* 
And they have been used, or words quite like them have 
been used, and can be found in every account of the 
life of a great people since history began to be written. 
Moreover, they will continue to be used by political mor- 
alists so long as civilized society exists; for the more 
splendid its fruits, the more renowned the victories of 
peace, so the more conspicuous are likely to be some of 
their undesirable products and accompaniments. In short, 
as certain social conditions seem to be inevitable, when 
the rewards of labor are abundant and wealth accumulates, 
it follows that some of the most serious charges directed 
against the domestic policy and the morality of the Im- 
perial Government are in reality only a way of saying 
what I have endeavored to briefly set forth in the preced- 
ing pages — that, under the rule of Napoleon III., the 
French people enjoyed unusual material prosperity. 

But the greatest work of Napoleon III. was in the 
field of international politics, and was performed for 
the honor, the glory, and the greater empire of France. 
This was the destruction of the European coalition that 



* Lavalles, " Histoire de Paris," tome i, p. 312. 



158 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

had held, or tried to hold, Prance in subjection since the 
overthrow of the First Empire. It was his wisdom in en- 
tering into an alliance with England, the prestige gained 
by the war in the Crimea, strengthened and completed by 
his successful intervention, in 1859, in behalf of the king- 
dom of Italy, that restored to France her hegemony on the 
Continent of Europe. This leadership was lost as one of 
the consequences of the unfortunate war of 1870-71. But 
the credit that rightfully belongs to Napoleon III. of hav- 
ing won for France the position of political preeminence 
which it held during his reign among the great Powers, 
should not be either cynically or complacently ignored by 
those who have most keenly felt and bitterly bemoaned 
the loss of this leadership. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR OF 1870-71 

A visit to Saint Cloud — The candidature of Prince Leopold of Hohenzol- 
lern — The Duke de Gramont — The Emperor not inchned to war 
— ^The opinion of the Empress — The Emperor's bad counselors 
— General Leboeuf — An incident — Public feeling — I propose to 
establish an ambulance — The service it subsequently rendered — 
The declaration of war — Enthusiasm of the people — The excite- 
ment in Paris — The anxiety of the Emperor — He felt that France 
was not prepared for the war — His interest in the army — ^The con- 
dition sine qud non — Words not to be forgotten — The departure of 
the troops — The Empress is appointed Regent — The Emperor 
leaves Saint Cloud for Metz — Misgivings. 

!N July, 1870, I invited a large number of Ameri- 
cans, together with a few French friends, to a 
garden-party at my house in the Avenue de 
rimperatrice, in order to celebrate with them 
the anniversary of the establishment of our Government; 
and we spent the long afternoon of that splendid summer 
day confraternally, and in grateful remembrance of the 
virtues of our forefathers. 

Although some of us had been living abroad for many 
years, it was evident that not one of our number had 
forgotten how much he owed to his native land; that if 
national prejudices had disappeared, the love of home 
and the patriotism of all had not diminished. Indeed, 
many — too many — of my fellow-countrymen have yet to 
learn that the flag of our Union is never so beautiful or so 
glorious as when raised on foreign soil, and that no eyes 
are so quickly moistened, no hearts so deeply moved by the 
music of our national airs and melodies, as are those of 
" expatriated " Americans. 

159 




160 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

The Emperor, who was one of the most observant men 
of his time, not only fully appreciated the value and 
significance of our American institutions, but, as I have 
already had occasion to remark, took a great interest in 
all matters that related in any way to the United States. 
Having seen his Majesty a few days previous to the above- 
mentioned gathering, I told him of my intention to cele- 
brate the 4th of July by inviting to my house those of 
my countrymen who were residing in or visiting Paris; 
and he then expressed a wish to learn, after the fete 
was over, how it went off. I was so greatly pleased, and, 
indeed, so proud of the extraordinary success of my garden- 
party, that, mindful of his Majesty's request, I decided 
to go, on the morning of the 5th, to Saint Cloud, where 
the Imperial family then resided. 

It was between six and seven o'clock when I left my 
house, but, although the hour was rather unusual for 
such a visit, I knew the Emperor would be up, for he 
was an early riser; and, besides, my duties obliged me to 
return to Paris before a certain hour. 

When I arrived at the palace, I looked up at the bal- 
cony on which the windows of the Emperor's dressing- 
room opened, for I expected that I should find the French i 
monarch standing there, as he had the habit of doing, 
smoking his cigarette and enjoying the morning air. But i 
there was no one upon the balcony; and I was surprised i 
to see the windows of the suite of rooms which the Em- 
peror occupied standing wide open — a sure sign that he 
was not present in that part of the palace, and that he 
had left his chambers unusually early. 

Hastening up-stairs, I met M. Goutellard, his Majesty's 
valet de chambre, the expression of whose features eon- 
firmed my apprehension that something extraordinary had i 
taken place. On inquiring, I was informed by him that t 
the Emperor had been aroused from his sleep long before 
daylight, by despatches which had been sent to him from 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 161 

the Foreign Office, and which seemed to have made upon 
his Majesty a very great impression. 

While I was still wondering what could possibly have 
occurred, the Emperor himself appeared. He saluted me 
cordially, although his manner betrayed dissatisfaction 
and annoyance. Seeing my surprise, he directed my at- 
tention to the papers which he held in his hand, and 
told me in a few words their contents. These despatches 
related to the candidature of the Prince of Hohenzollern 
for the throne of Spain, which had been announced by the 
Press the day before. 

The Duke de Gramont, the French Minister for Foreign 
Affairs, from whom the communications had come, had 
reported the information received by him in a w^ay that 
made it seem of very great and probably undue impor- 
tance, as I judged from the Emperor's extreme gravity 
of demeanor, which struck me forcibly and left upon my 
mind a painful impression. I could not help recalling 
at the time the remark made to me by a statesman of 
European reputation, on the announcement of the appoint- 
ment of the Duke de Gramont to the office of Minister for 
Foreign Affairs. " Believe me, the appointment forebodes 
a Franco-German war." 

This remark was based upon a correct estimate of the 
character of the man. But, unfortunately, the Emperor 
placed great confidence in the Duke; and I could easily 
see, from the conversation which ensued on that eventful 
morning, that although in the judgment of his Majesty 
a war with Prussia should be avoided, if possible, the in- 
fluence of this minister, and of others, was so strong that 
these rash and ill-advised despatches had their full and 
intended effect. The Emperor w^as persuaded that France 
had really been insulted, although at the moment there 
was perhaps no sufficient reason for such an interpretation 
of the Hohenzollern candidature. 

The Emperor, while I was still present at the palace, 



162 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

gave orders that a telegram should be sent to Paris, sum- 
moning the Duke de Gramont to Saint Cloud; and not- 
withstanding the early hour, he hastened to the rooms of 
the Empress to inform her of the communications to which 
he attributed such great importance. Everything indi- 
cated the approach of a crisis; and I left Saint Cloud 
with many misgivings, because I greatly feared that the 
bad advisers of the French monarch would lead him to 
commit mistakes which might have the most serious con- 
sequences. 

On the same day the Duke de Gramont had, as I heard 
from good authority, a long conversation with his sov- 
ereign, and I felt sure the Duke had used this opportunity 
to disturb the mind of the Emperor — to insist upon the 
gravity of the incident, and the necessity of meeting it 
by a peremptory declaration on the part of the Imperial 
Government. The result proved that I was not mistaken. 

On the evening of this day (July 5th) Prince de Met- 
ternich, the Austrian Ambassador, having gone to the Min- 
istry of Foreign Affairs, was addressed by the Duke de 
Gramont as follows: 

"I am very glad to see you. I have just come from 
Saint Cloud, and from a very excited meeting of the 
Council. You know what has happened? " "I suppose," 
said the Prince, " you refer to the Prussian candidature." 
' ' Ah, ' ' replied the Duke, "it is a great affair ' ' ; and 
he added with firmness, and at the same time with emo- 
tion: " That will never be; we shall oppose it by every 
means, even were a war with Prussia the result. ' ' * 

"When the news of the candidature of Leopold, Prince 
of Hohenzollern, first became known to the French people, 
few of them considered it to be of any great importance, 
because almost everybody believed that a diplomatic note 

* Despatch of Prince de Metternich to Count de Beust, July 8, 1870. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 163 

to the Government of Spain would be sufficient to induce 
Marshal Prim to withdraw his offer of the throne to a 
relative of the Prussian King. Such a solution of the 
question would have been the most natural. 

The journals that had been devoted to the Empire 
from its foundation, saw no reason for taking offense at 
an act concerning the propriety of which the Spanish 
people, in fact, were the sole judges. But the Duke de 
Gramont, with others, took the matter "au tragique,^^ and 
in the Legislative Assembly and through the Press he 
strove to persuade the world that the candidature of a 
Prussian prince was an insult to France, and that the 
Government of the King of Prussia should be called upon 
to disown this nomination, and to order the Prince to 
withdraw his unauthorized acceptance of it, otherwise 
war would be unavoidable. 

The Cabinet of the Emperor, in view of the difficult 
situation that had been suddenly created, became immedi- 
ately divided. The Duke de Gramont, General Lebceuf, 
Rigault de Genouilly, and Maurice Richard showed an 
inclination to make this candidature a casus belli; on the 
other side, Chevandier de Valdrome, Louvet, Segris, and 
Plichon threatened to lay down their portfolios in case 
war should be declared; while Ollivier, de Parien, and 
Mege wished to temporize. 

The Emperor, personally, was not at all inclined to 
precipitate a war with Germany. Not but that he rec- 
ognized the serious character of the situation which had 
been created — that it would be impossible for his Govern- 
ment to permit Prince Leopold to accept the offer made 
by Marshal Prim. But he saw no necessity for making 
a casus belli of an incident which, in his opinion, could 
be and ought to be disposed of by intelligent diplomacy. 
"If we can only get this candidature out of the way," 
said he, " mo matter how it is done, there will be no war." 
And it was with this object in view that, without con- 



164 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

suiting his ministers, the Emperor requested the King of 
Belgium to use his personal influence at Sigmaringen to 
obtain a withdrawal of Prince Leopold's candidature, and 
thus close the incident and preserve the peace of Europe. 
When, on the 12th of July, the Emperor heard that 
Prince Antoine had telegraphed to Marshal Prim announ- 
cing the withdrawal in his name of his son's acceptance 
of the Spanish crown, he sent immediately for Signor 
Nigra to come to the Tuileries. Greeting the Italian Am- 
bassador most cordially on his arrival, the Emperor told 
him the news, and said: " This despatch of Prince An- 
toine means peace. I have requested you to come here 
for the purpose of having you telegraph the news to your 
Government. I have not had time to write to the King. 
I know very well that public opinion is so excited that 
it would have preferred war. But this renunciation is 
a satisfactory solution, and disposes, at least for the pres- 
ent, of every pretext for hostilities." 

The same day he said to General Bourbaki, with evi- 
dent delight, " It will not be necessary for you to get 
ready your war-gear, for every cause of conflict is now 
removed. ' ' 

And meeting a number of officers shortly afterward, 
he said before them all: " This news is a great relief to 
me. I am very glad that everything has ended in this 
way. War is always a big venture." 

At one of the very last Cabinet councils, while Marshal 
Lebceuf continued to assert that " we are now ready," 
and that, " if we do not strike immediately, we shall lose 
an opportunity which we shall never have again," the 
Emperor proposed that the whole subject of the contro- 
versy should be submitted to arbitration. And this prop- 
osition was accepted — but too late. 

Leboeuf had issued his orders for mobilizing the army; 
and the falsified despatch published that very day in the 
North German Gazette, by the direction of Count Bis- 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 165 

marck, produced its intended effect — in the picturesque 
language of its author, " the effect of a red flag on the 
French bull." In a word, peace was no longer possible.* 
Ever since 1866 the Emperor had known only too well the 
completeness of the German military organization, and 
the feeling of hostility towards everything French that 
prevailed at Berlin. General Ducrot, who was in command 
at Strasbourg, had kept him well informed upon these 
subjects in letters addressed to him personally. He had 
read the comprehensive and precise reports of Colonel 
Stoffel, the very able French military attache at the Prus- 
sian Court. He had listened to what some of the cleverest 
observers and interpreters of German opinion had to say 
on these subjects. But even he had been nearly all the 
while optimistic; for he believed the destiny of France, 
and his own destiny, to be in his own keeping. 

When the Countess de Pourtales, who had been visiting 
relatives in Prussia not long before the war, said to him, 
" If you only knew what is said there, and could only 
see what is being done on every side to be ready for 
a war that is imminent! " the Emperor, smiling at what 
he evidently regarded as an exaggerated portrayal of the 
actual facts, replied: " Through what clouds have those 
fine eyes been looking at the future? You forget, my 
dear Countess, that to have a war requires the consent 
of two. And I don't wish it! " This was the Emperor's 
greatest mistake. In July, 1870, his consent was not 
necessary. The people were then sovereign. When he 
discovered this, the gravity of the situation began to bear 
down upon him. 

In his reply to M. Schneider, who, immediately after 
the declaration of war, addressed him on behalf of the 
Legislative Assembly, and assured his Majesty that he 
would have the patriotic cooperation of this body, the Em- 

* See Appendix V. 



166 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

peror said: " The real author of this war is not the 
one who has declared it, but he who has made it necessary. 
I have done all that I could to prevent it; but the whole 
nation by an irresistible impulse has dictated my resolu- 
tion." And it should not fail to be observed that he 
justified himself in yielding to this dictation by affirming 
that the object he hoped to gain was not glory, nor na- 
tional aggrandisement, but the realization of those hu- 
manitarian sentiments and ideals which formed the bed- 
rock of his whole political philosophy — ^the peace of the 
world and a general disarmament. " We seek," said he, 
" a durable peace, and to put a stop to that precarious 
state in which all the nations are squandering their re- 
sources in arming themselves one against the other. ' ' * 

Having frequent occasion to see the Emperor between 
the 5th and 15th of July, I became convinced that he lis- 
tened only reluctantly to those who tried to prove to him 
that a Franco-German conflict had become unavoidable; 
and I am certain that when he at last yielded, and gave 
his consent that the Legislative Body should be called 
upon to " take immediately the necessary measures for 
the protection of the interests, the security, and the honor 
of France," it was not done heedlessly, but with a full 
sense of his own responsibilities, and with a clear under- 
standing of the possible consequences of a war with Ger- 
many. He was perfectly aware that he and King William 
would not engage in a war on equal terms; that the King 

* Nous ne faisons pas la guerre h I'Allemagne, dont nous respectons 
I'independance. Nous faisons des voeux pour que les peuples qui com- 
posent la grand nationalite germanique disposent librement de leur 
destinies. 

Quant a nous, nous r^clamons I'etablissement d'un itat de choses 
qui garantisse notre securite et assure I'avenir. Nous voulons con- 
querir une paix durable, bas^e sur les vrais interets des peuples, et 
faire cesser cet 6tat precaire oh toutes les nations emploient leurs res- 
sources k s'armer les uns contre les autres." — Proclamation de I'Empereur, 
Juillet 29, 1870. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 167 

might lose many battles, and keep his crown; but that 
for him defeat would be destruction. 

The Empress Eugenie also had more than once ex- 
pressed, in my presence, her opinion that a war with 
Germany was not by any means desirable; and although 
the enemies of the Napoleonic dynasty have never ceased 
to maintain that it was the Empress who was the most 
insistent in persuading the Emperor to enter upon that 
disastrous campaign, I believe that she, on the contrary, 
was not only disposed to do, but as a matter of fact did 
do, all in her power to preserve peace, so long as peace 
was possible.* What her real opinions were with respect 
to this war are set forth in the following note which she 
sent me soon after she arrived in England. It is in her 
own handwriting, and is now published for the first time. 

TRANSLATION 

"It is said that the war was desired and made in a 
dynastic interest. Common sense only is needed to prove 
the contrary. The Plebiscitum had given great strength 
to the Empire; the war could add nothing to it. Were 
it fortunate, it might give glory, doubtless; but if un- 
fortunate, it might overthrow the dynasty. What man 
in his senses would stake the existence of his country, and 
his own life, on a toss-up? No; the war was neither de- 
sired nor sought by the Emperor; it was submitted to. 
After the reforms of the 2d of January, parties acquired 

* The expression " c^est ma guerre," attributed to the Empress by 
Gambetta, who gave as his authority M. Le Sourd, the first secretary 
of the French embassy at BerUn, is a miserable fiction. M. Le Sourd has 
denied over his own signature that he ever heard the Empress utter 
these words, or that he had ever repeated them. The phrase belongs 
to a notorious class of alleged sayings that it is almost impossible to 
successfully contradict, for the very obvious, if paradoxical, reason 
that, before they are heard of, or even exist, they are believed to be 
true by most of those persons who believe in them at all. 



168 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

in France new power; they urged the Government on to 
war by manifestations and through the Press. Since 1866 
the Opposition had never ceased to say to France that 
she was humiliated. Then — in 1866 — the personal influence 
of the Emperor alone was able to avoid the conflict. But 
in 1870 he was overridden (dehorde) having no longer the 
power in his hands." 

Unfortunately, at this most critical moment, when prej- 
udice and passion were creating public opinion and de- 
termining the national will, the advisers of the Emperor 
were neither intelligent enough nor conscientious enough 
to give him such counsel as would have been of service 
to their country. The Minister of War, especially, Mar- 
shal Lebceuf, an impetuous and indiscreet man, was guilty 
of having greatly deceived not only his sovereign, but 
the public, and perhaps himself, in regard to the real 
strength and efficiency of the French army, and its chances 
of success in case of a contest with Prussia. He told 
every one who came in contact with him that the French 
army was in an excellent condition, and that everything 
was prepared for immediate action. " I am ready," he 
said. " Never have we been so ready; never shall we be 
so ready; the war, sooner or later, is inevitable. Let us 
accept it. ' ' An expression of his of a similar kind, namely, 
' ' Not even a gaiter-button is wanting, ' ' has become known 
all over Europe. Unfortunately, there were many persons 
who could not see how exaggerated were these assertions of 
the Minister, and who therefore believed in their correctness. 

Marshal Lebceuf not only gave the Emperor a wrong 
impression as to the general efficiency of the French army, 
but he also made averments concerning the armies and 
military resources of Germany, of which he knew but 
little, that were entirely erroneous. 

Having myself traveled, at various times previous to 
1870, in different parts of Prussia, and also in Southern 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 169 

Germany, I had everywhere observed with surprise the 
large place the army held in the daily life of the people. 
There was no town, no village, where military exercises 
could not be witnessed; nor could I fail to remark the 
splendid physical condition of the German soldier, how 
perfectly he had been trained, and how admirably pre- 
pared he was to face the contingency of war. Indeed, 
every one who had visited Germany shortly before the war 
of 1870, and who was not blind to the truth of things, 
received the same impression as myself; and I could not 
refrain from communicating my views to the Emperor, 
during some of the conversations which I had with him. 

A few days before the declaration of war, while with 
the Emperor in his cabinet, reference having been made 
to the Prussian military organization, I ventured to re- 
mark that, in my opinion, Germany would prove to be a 
very formidable antagonist to meet. At the request of 
his Majesty, I repeated this opinion to Marshal Lebceuf, 
who just at this moment joined us. The Marshal listened 
to my words, but seemed to doubt their truth, and gave 
me to understand that he had quite different views with 
regard to Germany. I asked him if these views were 
based upon personal investigation; if he was acquainted 
with those countries which seemed of so little importance 
to him, and whether he had been himself in Germany. 
His answer was that he had been in Germany, but that 
he had not seen much of it. I could not help retorting 
courteously, that he had possibly made his studies of 
Germany in Wiesbaden, Homburg, and Baden-Baden. 
While laughing at my remark, he acknowledged that, dur- 
ing his sojourns in Germany, he had generally limited 
his visits to the places mentioned, and to the borders of 
the Rhine. Of this I was persuaded in advance. Notwith- 
standing, however, his insufficient information with respect 
to the actual state of things in the enemy's country, the 
French Minister of War was foolhardy enough to speak 



170 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

to his sovereign of a march to Berlin and the conquest 
of Germany, with an assurance which would not admit of 
any possible doubt. 

After having breakfasted at the Palace of Saint Cloud 
that morning with his Majesty, Marshal Lebceuf, and sev- 
eral other officials of the Empire, the Marshal and 1 de- 
scended the stairs together and passed out into the court, 
where, before he entered his carriage, an incident happened 
which I shall never forget, as what the Minister on this 
occasion said was so characteristic of the hyperbolic ex- 
pressions used by him when speaking of the French army. 

In front of the main entrance of the palace there stood 
a sentry on guard, who presented arms when the Marshal 
approached. The latter, evidently not noticing the person 
of the soldier, but carried away by the sight of the uni- 
form, laid his hand upon the shoulder of the sentry, and, 
with his usual military enthusiasm, proudly exclaimed: 
* ' With such soldiers as this France is invincible ! ' ' 

How ridiculous the exclamation was, and how difficult 
it was for me to suppress a smile, one may judge on learn- 
ing that the sentry thus honored by his general was a 
young fellow far below the average height, and apparently 
destitute of every physical quality requisite to make a 
good soldier. 

The day, however, was not far off when the over-con- 
fident Marshal had brought home to him the full weight 
of his personal responsibility for the disasters that over- 
whelmed his ill-conditioned and insufficiently equipped 
army. After the war, having retired to his estate in the 
country, he disappeared from view only to reappear in 
public as a witness before a parliamentary commission; 
and again, for the last time, on the 12th of January, 1873, 
at Chislehurst, when standing before the body of his Em- 
peror, dethroned, and now rigid in death, he fell upon his 
knees, and sobbing violently, cried out in a voice choked 
with grief, " Oh, pardon me, Sire! " 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 171 

With Marshal Leboeuf as Minister of War, and with 
the Duke de Gramont as Minister for Foreign Affairs, the 
destinies of France were in the keeping of men altogether 
incompetent to deal with a dangerous political situation — 
one from which no successful issue could be found without 
knowledge and the exercise of wisdom and tact. This was 
the thought which at that moment crossed my mind; and 
it is my belief that, in the year 1870, this thought was 
shared by many unprejudiced persons. 

The Duke de Gramont insisted that an excellent op- 
portunity had arrived to avenge France for having been 
deceived by Prussia after the battle of Sadowa; and the 
result was that, from the 5th of July until the 15th of that 
month, there passed no day on which some blunder was 
not committed by the Foreign Office. Telegram after tele- 
gram was sent to M. Benedetti, the French Ambassador 
at the Prussian Court, urging him, against his own good 
judgment, to make proposals to the Prussian King which, 
as could be foreseen, were not likely to be accepted. And 
the manner in which the Duke de Gramont, unwittingly 
and passionately playing into the hands of Count Bis- 
marck, who cunningly led the game, finally succeeded in 
precipitating the rupture between France and Germany, 
is now well known. 

I recognize that it is extremely easy to criticize acts 
in the light of subsequent events. Had the Duke de Gra- 
mont known before the declaration of war what everybody 
knew very soon after it, his policy would certainly not 
have been a bellicose one. And it is just as certain that 
the particular indiscretions of the Duke's policy would 
have been less remarked, if discovered at all, had the 
French met with the success they all confidently expected 
at the beginning of the war, or had the honors of battle 
been nearly equally divided between the combatants — in 
a word, had his Government possessed sufficient military 
strength to support him. He fully supposed — and he had 



17^ THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

reason to suppose — that the armies of France were not 
inferior to those of Prussia, or even of any probable Ger- 
man combination. To use his own words: " I resigned 
myself to the war; I made it (it was my only mistake) 
with absolute confidence of victory. For twenty years I 
have represented my country abroad; I believed in its 
greatness, in its strength, and in its military virtues, with 
almost as much confidence as I believe in my holy religion. 
What did I find on coming to Paris? A confidence equal 
to my own. The men who were the most competent in 
the Senate and in the Legislative Assembly believed, all 
of them, that France was invincible. And if a few solitary 
voices formulated a doubt or a fear, they failed to do it 
in season. I do not intend to say by these words that 
it was a blind confidence in victory that inspired at the 
last hour the resolution of the Government. No, the war 
was inevitable ; it was declared at Berlin, and in the Prus- 
sian determination there entered as its principal element 
an exact knowledge of the military forces of France and 
of the military forces of Germany, ' ' * The confidence of 
the Duke in the " invincibility " of France was but the 
natural consequence of the representations and assurances 
of Marshals Niel and Lebceuf, made without an exact 
knowledge of the military forces of either France or 
Germany. 

It is but just, moreover, to remember the excited state 
of public feeling in France at this time, that it had a 
powerful influence on the Government, and that the action 
of the Duke was taken in compliance with the demands 
of the representatives of the people, and expressed the 
sovereign will of the nation. 

Singular as it may seem, the Radical journals from the 
very beginning exceeded, if possible, in the violence of 
their language, those attached to the Government. 

* "Enquete Parlementaire," tome i, p. 108. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 173 

The Temps said : ' ' Should a Prussian prince be placed 
upon the throne of Spain, we should be thrown back to 
the times not of Henry IV., but of Francis I." 

The Siccle declared that " France, surrounded on 
every side by Prussia, or States subject to its influence, 
would be reduced to that isolated situation which led 
our ancient monarchy to those long wars with the House 
of Austria. The situation would be much worse than 
immediately after the treaties of 1815." 

Francois Victor liugo cried out in the Rappel: " The 
Hohenzollerns have reached such audacity that they aspire 
to dominate Europe. It will be for our time an eternal 
humiliation that this project has been, we will not say 
undertaken, but only conceived." 

And such things were said before the candidature of 
Prince Leopold had been officially announced by the Gov- 
ernment. 

Stirred by these explosive manifestations of popular 
feeling, pushed on by the wild clamor that arose on every 
side, the Government, on the 6th of July, declared before 
the Chamber its intention to oppose the placing of the 
Spanish crown on the head of a Hohenzollern prince. This 
announcement of the Government's policy was unani- 
mously approved by the Press. 

Perhaps the best evidence of the extraordinary state 
of exasperation and passion into which Frenchmen man- 
aged in the course of a few days to mutually and foolishly 
excite themselves, is to be found in the effect on the peo- 
ple of the announcement made by M. Ollivier, on the 12th 
of July, that Prince Antoine of Hohenzollern had, on 
account of the opposition to the candidature of his son, 
withdrawn the acceptance given. Foreshadowing, as this 
act did, a pacific solution of a most difficult and dangerous 
question, one might presume that it would have been wel- 
comed by the whole nation with intense satisfaction. On 
the contrary, it was received by the people with jeers, and 

13 



174 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

among- the crowds assembled in front of the cafes along 
the line of the boulevards, " La depeche du pere Antoine " 
was repeated from one to another as the joke of the day, 
or only to provoke a fresh explosion of rage. 

A Government journal having affirmed that "it is all 
we ask; it is a great victory, which has not cost a tear, 
not a drop of blood," the Presse answered: " This victory 
will be for us the worst of humiliations and the last of 
perils." And the Opinion Nationale wrote: " Since yes- 
terday, all the journals friendly to the Government are 
eagerly repeating that peace has been made, that the quar- 
rel has come to an end, and that we ought to rejoice. 
Nevertheless, no one is happy; we are sad, disappointed, 
and anxious." 

The Soir said : " Were war declared to-day, the ap- 
plause would shake the National Assembly. If war is not 
declared, it will be something more than a deception — it 
will be an immense burst of laughter, and the Cabinet will 
be drowned in its own silence." 

The Gaulois wrote: " A great nation is stupefied. 
Hearts are bursting; the masses, ten times more intelli- 
gent than our rulers, know that this ' pacific victory ' will 
cost France more blood than pitched battles." 

The National said : " It is a peace of ill-omen, the peace 
that has been talked about for the last twenty-four hours." 

And M. Emile de Girardin shouted out, in the midst 
of the general uproar: " If the Prussians refuse to fight, 
we will force them to cross the Rhine and to clear out 
from the left bank, by clubbing their backs with the butts 
of our muskets." 

When, finally, on the 15th of July, the Legislative As- 
sembly was asked by the Government whether it should 
be war or peace, out of 257 votes, 247 were for war and 
but ten for peace. And this result, on being announced, 
was followed by indescribable manifestations of en- 
thusiasm. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 175 

Nothing could more clearly indicate the general in- 
fatuation with respect to the issue of a war between France 
and Germany than that the very opponents of the Gov- 
ernment in the Legislative Chamber expected nothing less 
than the final triumph of the French arms. Indeed, it 
was to prevent this, and what seemed to them its inevitable 
consequence — the consolidation of the Empire — that they 
refused to be convinced that there was a casus belli; but 
after having thrown all the responsibility for the situation 
upon the Government, with few exceptions they voted with 
the majority for v/ar; for they, too, were unable to with- 
stand the passionate appeals that came from the press and 
the people. 

So deep was the feeling of indignation at the conduct 
of the Cabinet of Berlin, so universal the demand for 
vengeance, that Lord Lyons, in a despatch to Lord Gran- 
ville, said: 

** It is doubtful if the Government would have been 
able to resist the cry raised for the war, even had it been 
able to announce a decided diplomatic success." 

The statement made in the French Legislative Chamber 
by the Duke de Grauiont, on the 15th of July, 1870, was 
virtually a declaration of war; it then became evident to 
the world that hostilities between France and Germany 
had become unavoidable. 

Those who were personally interested in the success of 
either the one or the other nation thought, of course, of 
little else but the desired victory; but those who, being 
neither Germans nor Frenchmen, were uninfluenced by 
patriotic sentiment, or national prepossessions and prej- 
udices, at once foresaw the great sacrifice of life and the 
fearful suffering which a war would cause both to the 
victor and the vanquished, and recognized how deplorable, 
from a humane point of view, this conflict must be. 
Happily, there were not a few among them who felt it to 



176 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

be a duty to endeavor to mitigate its sad and painful eon- 
sequences. 

It was for this reason that I determined to render 
assistance, in every way in my power, to the sufferers of 
both armies, although my heart leaned naturally towards 
the French; for France had been my home for many 
years. 

I desired also to avail myself of the opportunity which 
a war would offer of introducing the improved methods 
of transporting and treating the wounded and taking 
care of the sick which had been adopted in my own coun- 
try during the great war of 1861-65, and which I had 
been laboring for many years to bring to the knowledge 
of the friends of army medical reform throughout the 
world. 

In the year 1867, during the Exposition Universelle in 
Paris, I exhibited a number of ambulance wagons, and 
models of field and post hospitals, together with a collec- 
tion of the excellent hospital and sanitary appliances 
which, after careful trial, had been adopted in the United 
States Army, or been used or approved by the United 
States Sanitary Commission. To this exhibit was awarded 
one of the eight grand prizes given at that exhibition. 
It was the only " Grand Prix " obtained by an American. 
Indeed, I found that my endeavors to make this apparatus 
known to European surgeons and army officials, as 
well as to introduce in camps the new methods used for 
the hospitalization and treatment of the sick and wounded, 
were greatly appreciated in military circles. At that 
time, however, no one imagined how soon there would 
be an opportunity in Europe to make a practical test 
of the value of these new appliances and methods. 

The Emperor, after a visit to this exhibit, which in- 
terested him greatly, said to me that he hoped the day 
was very far off' when they should have occasion in France 
to make use of these interesting inventions. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 177 

Not only had the time now suddenly arrived for or- 
ganizing assistance in behalf of the victims of war, but 
there were serious reasons for believing that it would be 
found necessary, very soon, to provide accommodation for 
the treatment of the wounded in the capital itself of the 
French Empire. 

I proposed, therefore, to establish an ambulance in 
Paris, where the wounded could be treated, so far a.s 
possible, under conditions similar to those which had been 
attended with the best results in the United States — in 
short, to give a practical demonstration of the great ad- 
vantages to be secured by making extensive use of field 
hospitals " under canvas," instead of crowding the 
wounded into churches and public and private buildings, 
as has been the custom in all armies and in all times. 

The apparatus which I had shown during the Exposi- 
tion, and which I still had in my possession, formed a 
good basis for the establishment of such an ambulance; 
but as there was much wanting to complete it, I undertook 
to procure more tents and additional medical and surgical 
supplies from the United States. 

On the 18th of July a meeting of Americans was held 
at my office, for the purpose of considering what we, rep- 
resenting the Paris American colony, and also to a cer- 
tain extent our countrymen at home, ought to do in 
view of the approaching conflict and its impending and 
fearful consequences. About twenty-five persons were 
present. 

At this meeting I stated that while, by contributions 
of money, we might furnish the means of relieving much 
suffering, and at the same time give expression to our 
feelings of humanity and international sympathy, it 
seemed to me that the most effective way in which we could 
use our money and give our assistance, under the existing 
circumstances, would be by establishing, in connection with 
the French and German armies, working examples of the 



178 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

American system of taking care of sick and wounded 
soldiers; and I insisted that such an addition to the sani- 
tary knowledge of Europe would be far more valuable 
than any mere donation of material aid to either French 
or German ambulances, though it were possible to collect 
thousands of dollars for that purpose. 

All of the gentlemen present at that meeting agreed 
with me, and promised me their cooperation in establishing 
one or more field-hospitals with the necessary accessories, 
to be constructed and managed in accordance with those 
principles which had received the sanction of American 
experience as being most suitable in war. A committee 
was thereupon appointed, under my presidency, with full 
power to carry on the work of " relieving the wants and 
sufferings of soldiers during the war which is now antici- 
pated between France and Prussia." 

I may remark, en passant, that such an ambulance was 
subsequently established in Paris, and that a large number 
of wounded were there taken care of during the siege, in 
the winter of 1870-71, in a way that realized in every re- 
spect my intentions and my hopes. It attracted the atten- 
tion not only of the surgeons connected with the Service de 
Sante and the military hospitals, but of the principal 
officers of the army and the members of the Government. 
The surgical results reported by those in charge of this 
ambulance were surprising. The Press was filled with 
commendatory notices concerning its organization and man- 
agement. Other ambulances were opened in Paris by the 
French Societe de Secours aux Blesses, in which the same 
system and the same appliances were closely copied. And 
the Government of the Defense Nationale, at the end of 
the siege, as an expression of its appreciation of the ser- 
vices rendered by this model American field-hospital, con- 
ferred the decoration of the Legion of Honor on no less 
than seventeen Americans, members of the staff employed 
in the general direction of the establishment, or in the 



THE FHANCO-GERMAN WAR 179 

service of its several departments, and raised me to the 
rank of Commander in the same order.* 

While preparations were being made for the execu- 
tion of my plan for ameliorating the condition of the 
sick and wounded during the impending war, the po- 
litical events became from day to day more important 
and more exciting. 

The Declaration of War created the greatest enthusi- 
asm all over France, and the Press was nearly unanimous 
in applauding the resolution taken by the Government 
and by the Legislative Assembly. 'E^^en the most radical 
journals proclaimed their approbation of the decision of 
the Ministry. Some extracts from the papers of the Oppo- 
sition will be sufficient to prove this assertion. 

The Univers said: " The war in which we are about 
to engage is, on the part of France, neither the work 
of a party nor an adventure imposed by the sovereign. 
The nation undertakes it willingly. It is not the Em- 
peror Napoleon III. who of his own accord has declared 
this war. It is we who have forced his hand." 

The Liberie said: " For several days we have not 
ceased to call for war. We have asked for it in all our 
prayers. The future, and the near future, will tell 
whether we have been right or wrong. Our soul and 
our conscience tell us that, in acting thus and in de- 
manding war, we have obeyed the duty which, outside 
of all other considerations, the dignity and the honor of 
France impose upon us." 

The Monde wrote : ' ' The Chamber was stupefied when 
it saw some of its members — let us hasten to say a feeble 
minority, however — protest by their votes against the 
war, the most just, the most necessary, and the most 
opportune. . . . The Keeper of the Seals expressed 

* "Historj^ of the American Ambulance," b}^ Thomas W. Evans. 
London: Sampson, Low, Marston, Low & Scarle, 1S73. 



180 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

the sentiment of France when he showed astonishment 
on account of the long debates on a question which is so 
clear, and when he called upon the Chamber to pass from 
words to acts. Yes, this mourning which has already 
commenced, these tears which are already shed, all this 
has become a necessary and unavoidable evil. . . . 
The Government of the Emperor recognized this political 
truth when it yielded nobly, admirably, to the inmost 
desire of France. If the enemy is ready before we are, 
then the useless and scandalous discussions heard last 
Friday in the Palais Bourbon have been the cause of 
its being in advance." 

The Opinion Nationale said: '' And we Republicans, 
Democrats, Socialists, citizens of an ideal fatherland, let 
us return to our real fatherland, and let us sustain it 
in its struggle, without troubling ourselves about the per- 
sons and things that divide us. A truce at this moment 
to all intestine disputes ! ' ' 

The Presse had under the heading, " The National 
War," an article which contained the following words: 
" The cries of war, which resounded yesterday on our 
boulevards, will now fill France, and sustain our army 
in the heroic struggle to which the insolence of Prussia 
provokes us. The resolutions of war which we are about 
to take do not emanate from the Government. The Gov- 
ernment has been irresolute; it allowed itself, by some 
of its chiefs, at least, to be drawn into making absurd 
concessions. These resolves go out from the very soul, 
so to speak, of the country itself. They are the result 
of all the irritation of national sentiment against the 
system of slavery which threatened to weigh down Eu- 
rope," etc. 

Perfectly in accordance with the conclusions and the 
language of the Paris Press was the feeling of the ma- 
jority of the nation at that time. "It is now," said M. 
Emile Ollivier, on receiving Bismarck's falsified despatch, 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 181 

" beyond the power of man to avert this war." The 
question at issue from that moment ceased to be a diplo- 
matic affair, or a matter that concerned only the Im- 
perial Government. The two nations, Prussia and France, 
had been thrown in collision, and were immediately 
in flames. A war of races was now inevitable. When 
M. Gambetta, on the morning after the publication of 
this famous despatch, said, in the Chamber of Deputies, 
" The purpose of this war is to settle forever between the 
French and Germanic races the question of preponder- 
ance,''^ his words only expressed what every Frenchman 
then felt. To the challenge " Qui vivef " the answer came 
in a voice of thunder, " La France! " The French capital 
was seized with irrepressible enthusiasm and wild excite- 
ment. Every night, for more than a week, after the reso- 
lution of the Government became known, the boulevards 
were filled by the populace, whose numbers were so great 
as to make it impossible for carriages to proceed along the 
roadway. All the people of Paris seemed to be possessed 
with a species of contagious hysterical insanity. The spec- 
tacle presented by these nocturnal demonstrations was most 
extraordinary. The foreign visitors in Paris looked on 
from the windows of their hotels, or other stations of van- 
tage, with wonder and astonishment. They were mani- 
festations not so much of patriotic feeling, as of rage 
and an irrepressible desire for vengeance. The dominant 
cry, the one that rose above and drowned all others, was 
"A has la Prusse! " 

But while the populace gathered by night in the 
streets, marching in columns a thousand strong, and cry- 
ing "A has la Prusse! " "A Berlin! " other crowds of peo- 
ple assembled during the day before the windows of the 
money-changers, in order to read the last quotations. The 
Bourse, and the square in which it stands, could not 
hold the enormous number of persons who wished to as- 
certain as quickly as possible the value of stocks and 



182 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

bonds; from the Rue Vivienne as far as the Boulevard 
des Capucines, the streets presented that peculiar spec- 
tacle, a swaying, surging mass of gesticulating, vocifera- 
ting humanity, which in times of peace was only to be 
seen on the floor, or in the perlieus of the Stock Exchange. 
Nor was the depreciation in value limited to French se- 
curities. Stocks and bonds of nearly every description 
were affected. British consols and United States bonds 
fell oft" almost as many points as French rentes. The in- 
calculable consequences of the conflict that was imminent 
between the two greatest Powers on the Continent of Eu- 
rope unsettled prices everywhere, and disturbed pro- 
foundly the money-markets of the world. 

Everywhere were loud voices, wild exclamations, and 
dense crowds. The omnibuses could not pursue their 
usual route along the boulevards, but had to take parallel 
streets, and even there they could proceed only with 
difficulty. 

The Prefect of Police, after the declaration of war, 
authorized the singing of the " Marseillaise " at the cafe- 
concerts, and liberal use was made of this permission. 

Even those places where, in times of peace, great 
ceremony was observed, and where a breach of etiquette 
would have been regarded as intolerable, became, from 
the 15th of July, scenes of the most extraordinary mani- 
festations of patriotic feeling. 

At the Grand Opera one evening, after the " Mar- 
seillaise " had been wildly applauded, some persons gave 
expression to their desire to hear Alfred de Musset's long- 
forgotten " Rhin Allemand." 

This desire was seconded at once by the whole audi- 
ence present in the theater, and loud calls for the " Rhin 
Allemand " were heard on every side. The Regis- 
seur appeared on the stage and announced that none of 
the opera-singers knew the words. This, however, did not 
satisfy the excited crowd; and in order to quiet the 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 183 

tumult, which had become unbearable, M. Faure finally 
agreed to sing the " Rhin Allemand " from the notes. 
After that evening, this song, as well as the " Marseil- 
laise " was sung every night at the Opera until the threat- 
ening prospect of a siege put an end to the amusement. 
Not only the capital, but every city, every village, of 
France, was seized with military enthusiasm; and there 
were but few Frenchmen that were not carried away by 
the popular excitement. Among these was the Emperor. 

" Napoleon III.," says a contemporary writer, " had 
no part in the general intoxication; his enthusiasm was 
that of a soul inspired by great subjects. He did not know 
that enthusiasm of the imagination which darkens reason 
and gives birth to illusions." 

The Emperor's heart was full of anxiety, because he 
had seriously studied the chances of the war. He foresaw 
the possible consequences to himself, his dynasty, and his 
country; but he believed in his destiny and had confidence 
in his army. And if he was mistaken with respect to its 
ability to promptly and successfully execute the plan of 
campaign that had been agreed upon, it was largely on 
account of the incorrect information which he received 
from his ministers. No monarch, no head of any great 
institution, can make sure of everything by immediate per- 
sonal investigation; he must study carefully the reports 
of those whom he has charged with the examination of 
the details of his affairs, and do his best to learn their 
opinion. Napoleon HI. did this, and even more. 

The Emperor seldom relied exclusively upon the opinion 
of his ministers, but made himself well acquainted even 
with many of the details of the administration, and es- 
pecially with those concerning the military affairs of the 
country. He was continually instituting inquiries with 
regard to the condition and serviceableness of the war 
materiel, and concerning the different kinds of arms in use ; 



184 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

and not only spent a great deal of his time in improving 
the artillery, which in modern wars has become of such 
great importance, but he also tried to obtain a correct 
knowledge of the general state and efficiency of the army. 

Thus, for instance, in the year 1867, after the trouble 
with Prussia with respect to the Duchy of Luxembourg, he 
said to General Lebrun, " We have escaped. But from this 
moment we ought to think of the future, and in peace to > 
be always ready for war; so that, should an event occur 
similar to the one we have just had to deal with, we 
may not be found living in a fool 's paradise, and absolutely 
iniprepared to defend ourselves." 

And thereupon, in order to obtain a clear insight into 
the existing military organization as a working mechanism, 
he himself thoroughly investigated it, and gave particular 
consideration to plans for the formation of independent 
armies on French territory; the object being to obtain 
thereby an organization of the national forces more mobile 
and effective, and more in accordance with the require- 
ments of modern war. The results of his studies were 
subsequently (in 1867) published in a memoir which he 
submitted to Marshal Niel, then Minister of War. , 

Indeed, the Army was always a special object of interest i 
and solicitude with the Emperor, and nothing that might ' 
in any way contribute to the health, comfort, and efficiency . 
of the French soldier ever failed, when brought to his 
notice, to find in him an earnest advocate. 

I have already spoken of the interest taken by the Em- 
peror in the War of the Rebellion of 1861-65, and of my . 
efforts to keep him well informed with respect to its prog- 
ress. But it was not information relating only to questions 
of strategy and tactics that he Avished to have; he wanted 
to know all about the organization of the commissariat and 
the quartermaster's department, and particularly about 
the kind of food and the (juality of the clothing issued , 
to the soldiers. At his request, I sent to the United 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 185 

States for samples of the clothing, the daily rations, and 
other supplies furnished by the Federal Government to 
the army while in active service. Many of these articles 
— such as desiccated vegetables, desiccated eggs, condensed 
milk, and so forth — were either American inventions or 
were used in the United States army on a scale vastly 
greater than had ever before been known. All these things 
interested his Majesty very much; and I remember now 
how, after examining with considerable care a specimen 
of the famous blue overcoats worn by the Federal sol- 
diers, he exclaimed, " C'est tres Men/' In making his 
inquiries, no new facts seemed to be too trivial to be dis- 
regarded; and he liked to see the facts that he believed 
to be important stated in writing, if not in print. And 
while informing himself about the instruments made iLse 
of, or the means taken to increase the efficiency of the army 
in my own country, I observed that he always appreciated 
these things in proportion to the extent to which he thought 
they might, perhaps, be adopted or employed with advan- 
tage in the French army. 

The reports which the military authorities gave to 
the Emperor just before the war began, in July, 1870, were 
such that he was forced to believe France was sufficiently 
prepared to enter into a war with Germany without incur- 
ring any extraordinary hazards. 

It is true that he was aware there existed a considerable 
difference in the numerical strength of the armies of the 
two countries; but this difference was, as the best French 
strategists maintained, not sufficient to prejudice the success 
of the French, provided the regiments could be mobilized 
and concentrated quickly enough to make an immediate 
attack upon the enemy. 

General Changarnier gave his opinion on the subject of 
numerical inferiority in war in the following words : " Do 
not let us try to make the number of our soldiers equal 
to that of our eventual adversaries; even by exhausting 



186 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

all our resources we should not succeed in doing so, butli 
this should give us no anxiety. It is difficult for 3,000 men t: 
to fight successfully against 5,000 ; but it is not so difficult i 
for 60,000 to fight against 100,000. The more the numbers > 
themselves increase, the less dangerous is a numerical 
inferiority. ' ' * 

This opinion was shared by most of the French military y. 
authorities, among others by the Prince de Joinville, byj;* 
Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, and by Marshal Leboeuf. ' 
But, of course, the conditio sine qua non was that Marshal I 
Lebceuf 's statement in regard to the perfect readiness of h 
the army to move should be correct. And this, as will be ^ 
seen later, was not the case. 

That the Emperor well understood the seriousness of I 
the war which he was forced to undertake, may be seen i 
from the significant reply which he made to the long and I 
optimistic address pronounced by M. Rouher in presence = 
of the Senate, which on the 16th of July had assembled at V 
St. Cloud to express to his Majesty their patriotic senti- ■ 
ments. " We begin," said the Emperor, " a serious strug- ■ 
gle. France will need the assistance of all her children." ' 

These words of the Emperor should not be forgotten i 
now, after the apprehensions of Europe have been verified. 
An impartial mind must recognize the fact that the defeat t 
of the French in the war of 1870 was not due to any neglect t 
on the part of Napoleon III., but that, on the contrary, , 
the Emperor did all in his power to insure the victory 7; 
to France. Had the people, on their part, not deserted ' 
him, after forcing him to declare war, and had they still 
maintained the character attributed to them by Caesar, when i 
he wrote, " Nefas more Gallorem est, etiam in extremd i 
fortuna deserere patronos " (It is considered shameful by ' 
the Gauls to desert their leaders, even in the greatest ad- - 
versity), it is but fair to suppose that the issue of this 

* " La V6rit6 sur la Campagne de 1870." Giraudeau, p. 191. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 187 

war might have been very different from what it was. The 
strength of Germany lay in its unity, and in the loyalty 
of its inhabitants; the weakness of France in its want 
of unity, and in the disloyalty of its citizens at a moment 
when all party interests and dynastic considerations should 
have been forgotten. Interior dissensions encourage and 
strengthen the common enemy ; while even with the feeblest 
government success is possible in case the people unite all 
their efforts. In the discord which reigned in France in 
the year 1870, and in the action of certain men who had 
been, and were then, willing to sacrifice the army, the coun- 
try, everything, to gratify their political hatred or satisfy 
their personal ambition, the direct cause of the defeat of 
the French is to be recognized. France was in need of the 
assistance of all her children. 

The French nation had wished for war, and now the 
preparations for the contest began. On the 16th of 
July, at nine o'clock in the morning, a bill containing the 
following announcement was posted on the walls of the 
Eastern Railway Station : 

" From this date (July 16th) the passenger service upon 
the lines of the Eastern Railway will be partiaUy sus- 
pended. Travelers are requested to apply to the station- 
master for information regarding the departure of trains. ' ' 

This proved that the advance of the army to the frontier 
had been decided upon. 

On the same day, towards noon, thousands of people 
hurried to this station in order to witness the departure 
of the troops. At three o'clock the Ninety-fifth Regiment 
of the Line, which had been stationed at Fort de Bicetre, ar- 
rived. It was accompanied by a large crowd singing the 
" Marseillaise " and crying " Vive I'Armee.^' The num- 
ber of spectators assembled between the entrance-gates and 
the station was so large that the soldiers could only proceed 
with difficulty. 



188 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

The Eighty-first Regiment arrived at nearly the same 
time, led by a band playing the ' ' Marseillaise. ' ' 

The appearance of these soldiers was far from reas- ; 
suring; and although, under the circumstances, the cries : 
of " A Berlin " and the noisy anticipations of victory were 
pardonable, and more or less confusion was to be expected, 1 
the unprejudiced witness could not fail to be struck with i 
the want of discipline, solidity, and seriousness which was ; 
plainly visible in their ranks. 

A still greater disappointment was produced by the * 
appearance of the Gardes Mobiles. No real patriot who 
looked at these young men, some of whom appeared on 
the street in a partially intoxicated state, accompanied by •. 
women in the same condition, could help having grave 
apprehensions as to the success of the war; and many a 
face was saddened when companies of these ill-conditioned 
levies were seen to fill the trains that were leaving Paris. ^ 

Darker and darker grew the horizon, and it became 
plainer from day to day that the tempest of war was 
approaching. 

On the 26th of July the Emperor Napoleon III. began 
to make his arrangements to leave the Palace of Saint Cloud 
for the purpose of assuming the command of the army; 
perhaps the most important of these was the appointment 
of the Empress, by special decree, Regent of the Empire. 

For seventeen years the sovereign who was thus called 
to represent her country, in the midst of the vicissitudes s 
of a great struggle, had shared the prosperous government 
of the Emperor; she had adorned the most splendid court 
in Europe by her intelligence, the brilliancy of her wit, 
by her grace and her beauty; and her ardent patriotism, 
and ever-present sympathy for the poor and suffering, 
justly entitled her to the confidence and love of the 
people. 

Her noble character well qualified her for the position 
she was now to hold, and her knowledge of the affairs of 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 189 

government which she had obtained through the interest 
she had always taken in them, and by means of the instruc- 
tion which she had received, rendered her perfectly compe- 
tent to govern the country she loved so dearly. She had 
often taken part in the Cabinet councils during the years 
of peace, and the Emperor had explained to her the mech- 
anism and initiated her into all the mysteries of State 
affairs; for he wished that the mother of the Prince Im- 
perial should be able, in ease of necessity, to educate her 
son for the serious taslvs which the future might devolve 
upon him. 

That her Majesty fully comprehended her responsibility 
and well understood her duty, must be acknowledged by 
all who have studied the history of the Regency; and few 
would blame her for anything that happened during the 
short period of her administration, were they to consider 
imder what difficulties it was entered upon and conducted. 
Even the most excellent qualifications of the Regent 
could not remedy the organic defect in the Govern- 
ment, which consisted in the restriction of her power 
at a time when it should have been concentrated in her 
person alone, and when she should have been subject to 
no other will or opinion than that of the Emperor and his 
ministers. 

In the year 1859 she was able, as Regent, to discharge 
her duties easily and successfully, for she was free; while 
in the year 1870, under the " liberal Empire," her initia- 
tive was destroyed, and she was unable to act with any 
freedom on account of the interference of the Legislative 
Assembly, which, instead of simply maintaining its place 
as a coordinate power, tried to usurp the functions of the 
Executive, and thus hampered all her movements. The 
most perfect, the most democratic Republics that have ever 
existed, have concentrated authority in times of war. The 
Roman Commonwealth, for instance, placed the supreme 
power, in times of danger, in the hands of one man, a 

14 



190 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Dictator, while the French nation, although ruled by a 
constitutional monarch, tried to limit the power of the 
Regent by establishing an oligarchy that interfered directly 
and constantly with her duties. If these facts are con- 
sidered, the results will not be wondered at. 

The Emperor decided to leave Saint Cloud on the 
28th of July, and I went to the palace on the morning 
of that day to bid him farewell. Clouds covered the sky, 
and there was a heaviness in the atmosphere that seemed 
to forebode evil. The evening before, the Emperor, the 
Empress, and the Prince Imperial, as I learned, had par- 
taken of the Communion at the hands of Monseigneur 
Darboy, the venerable Archbishop of Paris, who was as- , 
sassinated by the Communists a few months later. Soon 
after I arrived, the Emperor, with the Empress and Prince 
Imperial, came out of the apartments of her Majesty into 
the great salon, where those who had come to bid him , 
good-by had gathered together. With a kind word or a 
pressure of the hand for every one, he passed on. As 
he took leave of those whom he knew intimately, and of 
his ministers and the members of the Imperial household 
who were present on this occasion, it seemed to me that 
there was an unusual tone of tenderness in his voice, and 
an expression of sadness on his face such as I had never 
seen before. To some one saying, "In a fortnight your 
Majesty will be in Berlin, ' ' he replied solemnly, ' ' No, don 't 
expect that, even if we are successful." He doubtless , 
still believed in his destiny; but certainly no longer with t 
assurance in his good fortune. Although apparently per- : 
fectly calm, it was evident that he was profoundly agitated. 
I noticed that he was smoking a cigar, something quite ■ 
unusual for him to do. i 

About ten o'clock he got into his carriage to go to the \ 
station at the extremity of the park, where he was to take 
the train ; the Empress being at his side, nervous, striving 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 191 

to look cheerful, and holding in her hand the hand of the 
young Prince, whose eyes had filled with tears at the 
thought of leaving his mother. The carriage started im- 
mediately — the Emperor, after bowing to the people as- 
sembled in the Court, looking straight ahead, but seemingly 
observing nothing. 

Together with many others I went to the station, where 
for the last time the Emperor received us, bidding good-by 
to those with whom he had not before spoken, until the 
signal was given for the train to leave. Then, turning 
to the Empress, he embraced her tenderly, and, after 
stepping into the carriage reserved for him and his suite, 
he looked back and waved his hand toward her; while 
we stood watching, in silence and with deep feeling, this 
really touching separation of the Imperial family. 

As the train moved slowly away, all heads were un- 
covered, and the cry of " Vive VEmpereur! " rang out, 
weak in volume but sharp and clear. In a few moments 
the Emperor and the Prince Imperial were out of sight, 
and the Empress, struggling to suppress her sobs, was 
on her way back to the palace, where she had spent so 
many happy days, where the first weeks of her married life 
had been passed, and which, beautiful and enduring as 
it then seemed to be, as if having served the purpose 
for which it had been created, and associated in some 
mysterious way with the fortune of the Imperial Govern- 
ment — for here it was, in 1804, that the Empire of Napo- 
leon was proclaimed — a few months later was only a 
shapeless heap of twisted iron and calcined marble. 

I could not fail to be profoundly impressed with the 
difference there was between the morale of those connected 
with this departure, whether as principals or witnesses, and 
that exhibited on the occasion of the Emperor's leaving 
Paris in 1859, to join the army in Italy. Then, the streets 
filled with immense crowds, flags everywhere, the Emperor 
left the Tuileries in a carriage driven hy postilions, sur- 



192 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

rounded by the great dignitaries of the Court, officers in 
brilliant uniforms, and the cuirassiers of the Guard, and 
was received all along the route to the Lyons Railway 
Station with the wildest enthusiasm, he himself saluting the 
vast assemblage, calm and confident. The popular exalta- 
tion carried with it a presage and an assurance of victory 
that gave to that departure the appearance of a triumph. 
Now, attended by a few members of his Government, his 
personal staff, and his official household, avoiding the cap- 
ital, silently, almost secretly, the Emperor goes off to meet 
his destiny. 

In these later years many sayings of the Emperor have 
been reported revealing his sense of the very doubtful 
result of the war; but the most conspicuous proof of his 
full appreciation of the gravity of the situation was the 
care with which, when leaving for the head-quarters of his 
army, he avoided the demonstrations of enthusiasm with 
which he would have been greeted by the people of Paris 
had he appeared among them, and to which in his own 
soul he could find no response. 

As I returned to Paris, mingled thoughts of fear and 
hope crossed my mind, but the feeling of anxiety prevailed. 
To an unprejudiced person, the future of France could 
look but dark and uncertain, and I was quite prepared 
to hear that the French army had met with a repulse at 
the frontier. The campaign, however, proved to be far 
more disastrous than I had anticipated or even thought 
possible. 

On the evening of the 28th of July, the Emperor, accom- 
panied by the Prince Imperial, arrived at Metz for the 
purpose of taking the chief command. He had left Saint 
Cloud, as we have said, troubled with doubts and with sad 
misgivings. The chief cause of his uneasiness was that 
he knew his army might have to contend with an enemy 
superior in numbers, and reported by his own most highly 
credited agents to possess great military qualities; but he 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 193 

knew also that he had done all he could to make the armies 
of France efficient, and that, if his country had to suffer 
on account of not having enough men under arms, or from 
insufficient preparation for this emergency, the blame could 
not justly be placed upon him. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE FRENCH ARMY — SEDAN AND BISMARCK 

The efforts of the Emperor to increase the strength of the army — 
His proposals are denounced by the Opposition — Favre — Thiers ; 
— Magnin — Jules Simon — State of the army when war was declared 
— On arriving at Metz the Emperor finds nothing ready — Misled 
by incorrect reports — A fair example — The situation becomes more 
and more difficult — A change of commanders — Sedan — A vivid 
account of the battle written by the Emperor — Further resistance 
impossible — The flag of truce — The letter of the Emperor to the 
King of Prussia — De Wimpfen meets Von Moltke and Bismarck at 
Donchery — Interview between the Emperor and Bismarck de- 
scribed by Bismarck in a letter to the King of Prussia — Two letters 
— "Conneau." 

JAPOLEON III., during the years immediately 
preceding the war of 1870, had earnestly ad- 
vised reorganizing the army, so that France 
might be strong enough to preserve peace, or 
to protect itself against any of the neighboring countries in 
case of invasion ; but the nation did not listen to him. 

On the 12th of December, 1866, at his suggestion, a 
proposition was laid before the Legislative Assembly asking 
that the numerical strength of the army might be raised, 
when on a war footing, to 1,200,000 men — the number at 
the disposal of the King of Prussia. This was to be brought 
about with a very slight increase in the charge on the Treas- 
ury, by changing the system of recruitment and by means 
of a reorganization of the military service that would place 
about 500,000 men of the National Guard at the disposal of 
the Government, to be called into any field of military op- 
194 




THE FRENCH ARMY 195 

erations in the event of war. The proposition was de- 
nounced and strongly fought against by the leaders of the 
Opposition in the Legislative Assembly. It furnished a 
splendid subject for the phrase-makers. " What," said 
Jules Favre, ' ' after reigning fifteen years, after the public 
debt has been increased by 8,000,000,000 francs, after we 
have been forced into the wars that you know about — it is 
to be decreed that the whole population is to be delivered 
over to the drill-sergeant, and that France, instead of being 
a workshop, shall henceforth be only a barrack! " And M. 
Garnier Pages, while arguing to show that liberty had 
more to gain by defeats than by victories, declared that the 
boundaries of States were no longer fixed by mountains, or 
rivers, or by armies, and loftily proclaimed that " la vraie 
frontiere c'est le patriotism." 

M. Thiers spoke as follows : 

" Gentlemen, you forget one thing. It may be said 
that there is only the National Guard to defend the country, 
and that, unless you create the Garde Molile, France is 
open to the enemy. I must, however, ask you of what 
benefit to us is our admirable active army, which costs from 
400,000,000 to 500,000,000 francs annually? Or, do you 
suppose that it will submit to the first shock, and that 
France will be immediately without defense? Some days 
ago it was mentioned in this place that several Powers 
could oppose to you 1,200,000, 1,300,000, and even 1,500,000 
men under arms. I do not say that these figures have 
influenced your votes; but, after all, these figures, when 
quoted, made upon you a very vivid impression. Well, 
then, these figures are altogether chimerical. According 
to the statement of the Honorable Minister, Prussia is 
able to oppose to us 1,300,000 men. But I must ask him, 
When has any one seen these formidable numbers'? How 
many men did Prussia send into Bohemia in 1866 1 About 
300,000. . . . Therefore, gentlemen, we must not give 
the least credit to these fanciful figures. They are fabulous, 



196 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

and have never had any existence in fact. Let us, then, 
be assured our army will be sufficient to stop the enemy. 
Behind it, the country will have time to breathe quietly 
and to organize its reserves. Will you not have always 
two or three months — that is to say, more time than you 
need — for the organization of the Garde Mobile and for 
the utilization of the popular zeal? Besides, there will 
be volunteers in abundance. You have far too little con- 
fidence in your country. ' ' * 

* But on the 12th of August, 1870, after hearing of the first reverses 
that befell the French army, this adroit pohtician, with characteristic 
versatihty, declared in the Cliamber of Deputies he had never ceased 
to warn the Government that its preparations for a war with German}^ 
were altogether insufficient: "There is not a minister," he affirmed, 
" who has not heard me say we were not ready; the country has been 
deceived." And this was said notwithstanding the fact that on the 
30th of June — only sixteen days before the declaration of war — he had 
said in that same Chamber (I quote from the official journal) : " If we 
are at peace, if we are threatened by no one, it is because we are known 
to be ready for war. This is as clear as the light — yes, evident to all 
those who know the situation in Europe. Do you know why peace has 
been preserved ? It is because you are strong." 

M. Thiers was always in opposition when not in power; he had no 
political convictions of any kind. He was true to but one party, that 
of Adolphe Thiers. In 1848, when Louis Napoleon was a candidate for 
the Presidency of the Republic, the Revue Comique asked M. Thiers, 
" Why do you support Prince Louis?" and answered the question for 
him as follows: "Because his incapacity is notorious; because he is 
impossible; because it is the Revolution over again; with Prince Louis 
the struggle will recommence ; and with the contest there will be all the 
uncertainties, hut also all the hopes of the future!" No analysis of a 
character could be more exact. M. Thiers' love of leadership was such 
that he was never known to be, in American political parlance, " on the 
fence" on any subject but once in his life. When M. de Belcastel one 
day asked him, " What are your relations with God?" he rephed: "On 
that matter I think we shall be able to understand each other, for I am 
neither of the Court nor of the Opposition." 

Many, perhaps most. Frenchmen are disposed to forgive and to forget 
a great deal in M. Thiers' political life, not so much on account of his 
wonderful intellectual alertness, his marvelous gifts of speech, his wit, 



THE FRENCH ARMY 197 

These were the words of M. Thiers when this propo- 
sition to increase the army and its efficiency was brought 
before the Legislative Assembly; and the speeches of his 
colleagues of the Opposition were to the same effect; and 

his diplomatic skill, the ingenious versatility with which he was able to 
adjust himself to every political situation, as in remembrance of his 
undaunted efforts, in the winter of 1870-71, to obtain the intervention 
of Europe in behalf of France, and the rapidity with which he subse- 
quently, when " Chef du pouvoir," freed his country from the presence 
of the hated enemy. 

The fact nevertheless remains, that on this " liberator of the terri- 
tory " will forever rest a very large part of the responsibility of having 
pushed France into an abyss, from which it could only be extricated 
after its dismemberment, and liberated at the cost of a prodigious 
pecuniary ransom. 

The Hon. Andrew D. White, our late distinguished Minister and 
Ambassador to St. Petersburg and Berlin, an acute and yet most unpre- 
judiced ob.server of men and events, in his "Autobiography" recently 
published, refers to M. Thiers in a paragraph which I am quite sure 
foreshadows the judgment of Frenchmen themselves, when with the 
lapse of time they shall become able to write and to read their own 
history without passion and without prejudice. 

Mr. White says: " I have studied M. Thiers as a historian, observed 
him as a statesman, and conversed with him as a social being, and he 
has always seemed, and still seems to me, the most noxious of all the 
great architects of ruin that France produced during the last half of 
the nineteenth century; and that is saying much. His policy was to 
discredit every Government which he found existing, in order that its 
ruins might serve him as a pedestal; and while he certainly showed 
great skill in mitigating the calamities which he did so much to cause, 
his whole career was damning. ... In his writings, speeches, and 
intrigues he aided in upsetting not only the rule of the Bourbons in 
1830, but the rule of Louis Philippe in 1848, the Second Republic in 
1851, the Second Empire in 1870, and, had he lived, he would have 
doubtless done the same by the present Republic." 

It would be hard indeed for any judicious, unbiased person familiar 
with recent French history, to come to any other conclusion. And the 
final judgment of the world is almost sure to be that if there was any 
man living in France at any time during the nineteenth century to 
whom the epithet of " I'homme nefaste " could be justly applied by his 
countrymen, that man was Adolphe Thiers. 



198 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

as they met with considerable support on the side of the 
majority the consequence was that the Emperor's plan for 
reorganizing the army could not be carried out.* 

Nearly two years later, during the session of 1868, this 
measure was resubmitted to the Chamber of Deputies, but 
only after it had been modified. The Emperor now pro- 
posed that France should have at least 750,000 men under 
arms, including the reserves; but even this moderate de- 
mand met with the most violent opposition. 

M. Magnin (afterward one of the members of the Gov- 
ernment of the 4th of September, and one of those Deputies 
who voted for the war) said in the Chamber : 

" You remember what an outburst of discontent was 
heard all over France at the announcement of the former 
project for increasing the army. Nobody would or could 
accept it. It was submitted to the State Council, which ex- 
amined it in the Session of March ; and, later, it was placed 
again before us, with an introduction explaining its mo- 
tives, and with its most obnoxious points modified. 

" In fact, the project in its new form reduced the 
time of service. There were still, however, 160,000 men 
required. In the active army the service was to be of five 
years' and in the reserve of seven years' duration. Those 
who did not serve in the active army were to serve four 
years in the Garde Mobile. . . . This still created a very 
violent and very ardent opposition, which was shared par- 
tially by your Commission, and I offer you my congratula- 
tions thereupon. 

** The public did not look more favorably upon the new 
project than upon the preceding one; and the Emperor 
now announces to you that other modifications will be made. 
' It is, ' he says, ' not a question of militarizing the country, 
but of modifying certain parts of the law of 1832. ' ' ' 

M. Jules Simon (a member of the Government of 

* See Appendix VI. 



THE FRENCH ARMY 199 

the 4th of September, and who also voted for the war) 
said: 

" Gentlemen, the chief aim of the project first pre- 
sented was to ask for an army of 1,200,000 men. . . . 
I insist, before going farther, upon drawdng your attention 
to the enormous figure — 1,200,000! . . . 

" After considerable changes which are due to public 
opinion, to the zeal of the members of the Commission, and 
the concessions made by the Government, we have finally 
come to the present project. But it is plainly to be seen 
that you still wish to have an army of 800,000 men, and, 
in order to obtain this, you wish to create the Garde Mobile. 
The law which proposes this is not only a hard law, but 
an unmerciful one; one that weighs heavily upon those 
who are called to serve, and at the same time upon the 
whole population; because quartering the Gardes Mobiles 
in the houses of the inhabitants will be adding a new tax 
to those which already oppress us. In the end, the political 
consequences of the new system will be still more disastrous 
than the material consequences; and the law proposed 
is especially bad, because it will increase the almightiness 
of the Emperor. . . . 

" The important point is not the number of soldiers, 
but the cause they have to defend. If the Austrians were 
beaten at Sadowa, it was because they did not wish to fight 
for the House of Hapsburg against the German fatherland. 
Yes, gentlemen, there is only one cause which makes an 
army invincible, and that is liberty. ' ' 

Strangely enough, many of the very men who were sys- 
tematically opposing any increase of the army were most 
violent in their denunciations of the pacific policy of the 
Imperial Government with respect to Germany. " The 
soldier is a white slave," said M. Emile de Girardin one 
day ; and the next day he claimed the Rhine as the rightful 
frontier of France, and, working himself into a frenzy 
over his theme, finally shrieked out: " If, to obtain it, it 



200 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

is necessary to give Europe a shower-bath of blood, let the 
shower-bath be given to Europe." 

The proposed law in its modified form was at last 
adopted in 1868. By this enactment the regular army was 
increased to a total strength of 744,568 men, including the 
reserves (329,318) ; and provision was made for the mobil- 
ization of 500,000 National Guards for the defence of 
the fortresses. But the Opposition voted against it; and 
among those who opposed it were Messrs. Bethmont, 
Magnin, Glais-Bizoin, Dorian, Jules Favre, Carnot, Thiers, 
Jules Simon, Ernest Picard, Garnier-Pages, and Pelletan. 
Had the will of these gentlemen been accomplished, the 
army would have been much smaller than it was when 
the war began. 

But while the army was thus officially increased in 
number, its effective strength was, at the same time, actu- 
ally reduced by the extension given to a pernicious system 
of furloughs subservient to certain political interests, and 
by virtue of which large numbers of soldiers were permitted 
to be absent from the ranks. On the 20th of March, 1868, 
Marshal Niel reported to the Senate that of the regular 
troops in the second year of their service, twenty-five per 
cent, were absent on a six-months' leave; that of those in 
the third year of their service, a third were absent; that 
of the fourth year's men, two-fifths were absent; and that 
of the troops in the last year of their service, one-half were 
absent on a six-months' furlough. 

When war was declared in July, 1870, more than a third 
of the French regular army was absent on leave. And, 
more extraordinary still, it was discovered that the cavalry 
horses had been " furloughed " to the farmers in about 
the same proportion. And these furloughs had been 
granted notwithstanding the repeated warnings the Em- 
peror had given of the consequences that might follow. 

If, therefore, France had too small an army at the 
beginning of the war of 1870 (415,000 men, not counting 



THE FRENCH ARMY 201 

the reserves), and the rapid mobilization of this scattered 
army was impossible, it was certainly not the fault of the 
Emperor. On the contrary, the responsibility belongs to 
those politicians who prevented him from doing what he 
earnestly wished to do. 

Nor does the responsibility rest entirely or even prin- 
cipally upon the political opponents of the Government. 
The Deputies at this time were nearly all Imperialists, nom- 
inally at least; and if the Emperor's proposition to reorgan- 
ize and strengthen the army failed to obtain the support of 
the majority in the Legislative Chamber, it was because 
some of these Deputies honestly believed it to be unneces- 
sary and inexpedient, and others were more anxious about 
their own personal popularity with their taxpaying constit- 
uents than mindful of the interests of the Government and 
of the nation.* 

The time now had suddenly come when many patriots 
recognized the serious mistakes that had been made, and 
deeply regretted that the number of French soldiers was 
not greater. But the nation desired war ; and the Emperor 
considered that he had no right, even had he the power, to 

* These statements are true; but they fail to set forth the whole 
truth. Many of the friends of the Government regarded the project 
as one that endangered the stability of the Empire. A majority even 
of the Members of the Emperor's Cabinet considered it to be politically 
inexpedient, whatever may have been their opinion of its desirability 
from a military point of view. They knew that the people generally 
were strongly opposed to increasing the number of men liable to be 
called into active military service; and, especially, to any law that 
diminished the number of exempts. So very unpopular was this meas- 
ure that after it was finally passed, with numerous amendments and 
ameliorations, Gressier, the reporter, failed to be reelected in his Canton. 
"I like you very much," said an old farmer to him, "but I shall not vote 
for you — you have taken my son from me and made him a soldier." 
The Imperial Government could count upon the solid vote of the "rus- 
tics" — but only on certain conditions. " Un jour," said M. Jules Ferry, 
"les masses agricoles montrerent quelles pouvaient vouloir." The Em- 
peror knew this; but he wished also to do his duty. 



202 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

refuse to submit to the national will. His only desire, as the 
representative of this will, was to do the best that could 
be done under the circumstances. These made a rapid 
movement forward imperative, if the campaign was to 
succeed. His plan was to attack the German troops on 
German soil, to cross the Rhine at Maxau, and to separate 
North Germany from South Germany. But the passage 
of the Rhine had to be effected before the enemy could 
concentrate near that river, otherwise the execution of his 
plan would be impossible without risking great losses. All, 
therefore, depended upon the precision and quickness of 
the mobilization of the French army, and upon its readiness 
for action. 

How fearful, then, must have been the disappointment 
of his Majesty, when, on his arrival at Metz, he found that 
nothing was in readiness, and that the reports which he had 
received at different times from his chief military officers 
were incorrect and misleading. 

In the year 1868 Marshal Niel sent a report to the 
Emperor, in which he said that all the orders had been 
prepared for a very speedy calling out of the soldiers of 
the reserve, and that, thanks to the measures taken, the 
several corps which were to form the active army could 
be made up ready for service, in case of an emergency, 
within a space of nine, or, at the most, of fourteen days. 
On the 9th of April, 1869, Marshal Niel, speaking in the 
Senate on the state of the army, made use of words still 
more assuring. He then said: " Our situation is such at 
the present time that, if we will maintain it, we can never 
be surprised." And two or three days later, in the same 
place, he declared: " To-day, whether we are in peace or 
at war is not of the slightest consequence to the Minister 
of War; he is always ready." Marshal Lebceuf, who was 
the successor of Marshal Niel as Minister of War, confirmed 
these statements, and also insisted that the armies would 



THE FRENCH ARMY 203 

be ready to act within a fortnight, should they be 
called out. 

On the 6th of July, 1870, Marshal Leboeuf submitted 
to the Emperor a schedule of the military forces at the 
disposition of the Government. According to this state- 
ment there should have been 350,000 regular troops on 
the frontier within fourteen days after the calling out of 
the reserves, and 100,000 Gardes Mobiles besides. This 
was the force to begin with; but before a month should 
have elapsed, 400,000 troops were also to be ready for 
action. To this force, the Marshal said, Prussia would 
only be able to oppose 390,000 men, and that, counting 
the soldiers of the Southern States, the German army 
would have a strength of only 420,000 men. (In fact, 
the three German armies of invasion numbered at first 
but 338,000 men.) Relying upon the correctness of these 
reports, the Emperor might have had good reason to hope 
for success, especially as his plan was to attack the Prussians 
before the armies of the Southern German States could 
be united with them. When, however, he arrived at his 
head-quarters three weeks later, he found, to his great dis- 
may, that the eight French army corps sent to the frontier 
numbered only 220,000 men. 

This state of things was very serious; but the most 
alarming discovery made was the fact that important 
instructions which the Emperor had given with regard to 
the distribution of military stores of every sort, even to 
the baggage train, had not been obeyed, although ]\Iarshal 
Niel had reported to the contrary. As the result of this 
neglect, the mobilization was paralyzed at the most critical 
moment. 

The letters sent by the Emperor to the Empress at 
this time were most discouraging. *' He was," she said, 
" navre. Nothing was ready; the confusion indescribable; 
the plan of the campaign must be abandoned on account of 
the inevitable delay," 



204 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

The details of military organization are not very in- 
teresting to the general reader, but I think I may count 
upon his indulgence, if I give the facts in a single case that 
is a fair example of many others, and which will show 
plainly what reason the Emperor had for believing his army 
ready for action in July, 1870 ; as also that the non-execu- 
tion of his orders was among the causes of the defeat 
of the French. 

In the year 1868 the Emperor inquired at his War 
Department how long it would take to have in readiness 
the Government wagons that were stored at Vernon. The 
answer was that this operation would take several months. 
Surprised to hear such a reply, he immediately gave orders 
to have the wagons distributed over different parts of the 
country; and the Minister of War reported shortly after- 
ward, in the following words, that these orders were in 
the way of execution. 

" The concentration of all the baggage wagons at Ver- 
non is dangerous in case of a war, as the length of time 
necessary for making ready so much materiel (6,700 wag- 
ons, 10,000 sets of harness, etc.) might interfere very much 
with a quick mobilization of the army. To remedy this 
difficulty, the following measures have been adopted : 

' ' Barracks are to be erected in the Pare de Chateauroux 
for about 1,200 wagons, so that the squadron of the bag- 
gage train, which is quartered there, will find its wagons 
handy, without being obliged to send to Vernon for them. 

" Use is to be made of the circumstance that a detach- 
ment of artillery and engineers is quartered at Satory, 
by placing there all those wagons which have to be 
furnished to the staffs and to the different corps of these 
troops. . . . 

" Sheds are to be constructed at the camp of Chalons 
for about 600 wagons, which are to serve for the baggage 
train accompanying the first divisions. 

" The regimental wagons which are to serve the First 



THE FRENCH ARMY 205 

Corps are to be distributed in the military posts of 
the East. 

*' According to this plan, the First Army will be able 
to find, between the camp at Chalons and the frontier, all 
the wagons that it will need for the march. 

' ' The Army of Lyons will have its means right at hand ; 
transportation for the Army of Paris will be at Satory, 
and, at the same time, the parks of Chateauroux and Ver- 
non will furnish the wagons necessary for the Second and 
Third Armies. 

" At this moment the small depots of the East are 
being constructed ; the wagons for one division are at Metz ; 
at Strasbourg there are wagons for one brigade, and at 
Besancon for one regiment. The depot of Toul will be 
opened in a few days. 

" The constructions to be made at Chalons, according 
to the above plan, will probably be finished within one 
month. 

" Lyons has the wagons necessary for one division of 
infantry and one division of cavalry ; it will receive within 
a short time the wagons for another division of infantry — 
when the materiel which has come back from Civita Vecchia 
has been repaired. 

" The barracks which are at present being erected 
at Satory will hold all the regimental wagons. 

" It is to be hoped that the distribution of the materiel 
will be accomplished before spring, with the exception of 
that to be sent to the Pare de Chateauroux, as the works 
there cannot yet be commenced on account of the condition 
of the ground." 

From this report it will be seen that the Emperor 

had a right to believe that no considerable delay would 

occur with respect to the distribution of the army wagons. 

"When the war of 1870 began, almost two years had elapsed 

since the arrangements indicated above were, according 

to the official report, to be immediately completed. What, 
15 



206 THE SECOND FRENCH EIMPH^E 

then, will the reader say when I inform him that these 
wagons were still stored up at Vernon and Satory on the 
outbreak of hostilities in the year 1870, and that it was 
a long while before the greater part of them could be sent 
to the different corps, thus hampering the mobilization 
enormously ? 

There is a point in the preceding statement which should 
not be allowed to pass unobserved, namely, the wagons 
were apparently sufficient in number to meet the require- 
ments of the service. In fact, the rigid parliamentary in- 
quiry instituted by the Government of the Republic, after 
the war, has made it perfectly clear that the French War 
Department in 1870 was well supplied with nearly all 
the materiel necessary for a campaign, with the troops then 
at the disposal of the Government. The fatal error — 
the unpardonable blunder — of Marshal Lebceuf, and of 
his predecessor, Marshal Niel, consisted not so much in 
overestimating the number of " gaiter buttons " or other 
militai-y stores en vnagazin, as in underestimating the time 
necessary to deliver these supplies where they were needed, 
and to provide for their regular distribution.* The want 
of something somewhere put a stop to every effective 
movement everywhere. As we have seen, it was the opinion 

* ITupardonable to every one but to him who was the principal suf- 
ferer. When preparing the article entitled "Projet d'organisation de 
I'armde du Rhin," published in the "Oeuvres posthumes de Napoleon 
III," his collaborator, Count de la Chapelle, inserted a note addressed to 
tiie Emperor by Marshal Leboeuf, in July, 1870, in which the Marshal 
says: "In fifteen days I can at any time throw upon the frontier an 
effective force of 400,000 men." But the Emperor would not consent 
to have it published. Writing to the Count on the subject he said: " Al- 
though the first document under the name 'note of the Minister of War' 
is of the greatest importance, as regards my own responsibility, I prefer 
to strike it out as it accuses too clearly poor Marshal Leboeuf who is al- 
ready so unfortunate. Consequently I pray you to suppress it." In- 
tleed, the Emperor in the kindness of his heart, was willing to pardon 
nearly everything and everybody. 



THE FRENCH ARMY 207 

of both these war ministers that a fortnight would be 
time enough in which to equip and place the whole French 
army upon a war footing. Not only was it found to be 
impossible to do this, but it was not done at the end of 
a month. Nor would it have been possible in a much longer 
time, even under the conditions of peace, to have effectively 
mobilized the French army, and got its whole rather com- 
plicated machinery into good working order. 

But, strange as it may seem, perhaps in no particular 
was the French army less prepared to enter upon a cam- 
paign than on account of the general ignorance of the 
geography of the country to be invaded and the absence 
of maps even of France itself. Detachments and whole 
Divisions of the army wandered about, not knowing exactly 
where they were or where they were going. The ignorance 
of the French general staff with respect to the topograph- 
ical features of the ground upon which the battles of the 
war were to be fought would have been incredible, had not 
the greatest disasters been directly precipitated by the lack 
of such specific information and knowledge. There were 
generals who believed AVissembourg was in Bavaria ; who 
did not know that the j\Ieuse and the ]\Ioselle were two 
separate rivers, or that Sedan was a fortified place. And 
why should they be expected to know more than their su- 
periors, if the story be true that is related of one of the 
marshals who was as conspicuous during this war as he 
was unfortunate in his leadership? Having occasion to 
send a letter to Sydney, New South Wales, the ilarshal, 
so it is reported, asked a member of his staff if he could 
tell him where Sydney was. " In England," was the 
answer. ' ' No, ' ' replied another member of the staff, ' ' you 
are mistaken; it is in the United States." Perplexed by 
this contradictory information, the Marshal cried out, 

" Send for de H " to whom, when he entered the 

room, the ^Marshal said, ' ' Tell me, de H , in what coun- 
try is this place, Sydney ? " "In New South Wales, ' ' was 



208 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

the reply. " But where is New South Wales? " "In 
Australia, your Excellency." ** And in what country is 
Australia? " "In the Indian Ocean," promptly replied 
M. de H . 

" Sapristi! '^ exclaimed the Marshal; " ce diahle de 
H il connait tout! " (he knows everything). 

The discovery of this state of unreadiness, that it was 
no longer possible to execute his plan of campaign, must 
have given a severe shock to the monarch, who foresaw what 
evil consequences would inevitably arise from it; and it 
is reported that on the day of his arrival at Metz, when 
he recognized the situation of the army and in what manner 
his orders had been executed, the perspiration came out 
upon his forehead in great drops, and that he exclaimed, 
" We are lost! " 

And, as if the disorder and absence of preparation vis- 
ible on all sides were not sufficiently discouraging, the 
Emperor found lying on his desk at the Prefecture some 
thirty anonymous letters denouncing the incapacity of his 
generals, and demanding that they should be superseded or 
discharged. Certainly one of the most extraordinary things 
that ever happened to a sovereign on the eve of battle ! 

That the delay required to prepare the army for 
active service was the proximate cause of the French re- 
verses in the first battles of the war has since been uni- 
versally acknowledged. 

Napoleon III. therefore stated the case with absolute 
accuracy when he wrote, on the 29th of October, from 
Wilhelmshohe, to a distinguished English general: " Our 
disasters have arisen from the fact that the Prussians were 
ready before we were, and that we were taken, so to say, 
en flagrant delit de formation.' ' 

As one might have expected from the manner in which 
the campaign was opened, so it went on. The Germans 
gained one victory after another, and the situation of the 
French troops grew from day to day more difficult. 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 209 

"When the news of the first defeats became known in 
Paris, it created general consternation. Public opinion rec- 
ognized the incapacity of Marshal Leboeuf, and the Pari- 
sians began also to mistrust the capacity of his Majesty as 
Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Rhine. The Em- 
peror therefore considered it wise not only to accept the 
resignation of the Marshal, but also to lay down his own 
military command. There now remained for him nothing 
but to choose an able successor. 

In a council of the chiefs of the Army Corps, stationed 
at that time near Metz, it was finally decided that Marshal 
Bazaine should be appointed Commander of the Army of 
the Rhine, assisted by Marshal MacMahon, who was to 
take command of his own army corps, as well as of the 
corps of Generals de Failly and Felix Douay, and of the 
new columns which were being formed at Chalons. 

On the 16th of August his Majesty made another con- 
cession to public opinion. At the suggestion of some of his 
generals, and at the urgent request of Prince Napoleon, he 
appointed General Trochu Governor of Paris — an appoint- 
ment which, as will be seen in the following chapters, had 
very serious consequences. 
[ Napoleon III. unselfishly yielded to the wishes of his 
people, by entrusting the most responsible posts to men 
whom the military experts and public opinion had declared 
to be the most capable ; * but the concessions which his 

I * These appointments were at the time unanimously commended. 
When Count de Palikao announced to the National Assembly that the 
Army of the Rhine was under the command of Marshal Bazaine, that 

1 the Marshal was the only General-in-Chief, the applause was great. 
" Then," cried M. Barthelemy Saint Hilaire, " Marshal Bazaine is 
Generalissimo. That will give confidence to the country." Jules 
Ferry declared that this appointment gave full satisfaction to the 
Chamber and would be approved by the whole country. Gambetta 

• afterward spoke of the Marshal as "our glorious Bazaine"; and the 
anti-Imperialist faction even claimed the honor of having forced the 
Government to place the command of the army in the hands of this 



210 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Majesty made proved fatal, for they led swiftly to the 
disaster of Sedan. 

The events which took place during those last fateful 
days of his reign, are vividly described in a paper written 
by the Emperor shortly before his death. The following 
pages contain a translation of a part of this narrative: 

" On the 30th of August, at four o'clock in the after- 
noon, the Emperor and the Duke of Magenta were on the 
heights of Mouzon, where the Twelfth Corps was in posi- 
tion. Both had alighted from their horses. The artillery 
of General de Failly was heard in the distance, and General 
Pajol, who had made a reconnaissance in order to judge 
how matters stood, had brought back the news that the 
Fifth Corps was retiring upon Mouzon. The Marshal then 
told the Emperor that the whole army would soon have 
passed to the right bank of the Meuse ; that he himself did 
not wish to leave Mouzon before the operation was com- 
pleted, but that all was going well. He advised the Em- 
peror to repair to Carignan, where the First Corps must al- 
ready have arrived, and where the head-quarters were to 
be established. 

" Napoleon III. therefore departed full of confidence 
as to the result of the day. But scarcely an hour after 
his arrival at Carignan, General Ducrot came to him with 
the most alarming ncAvs : the Fifth Corps had been thrown 
back in disorder on Mouzon, along with the brigade that 
was sent to its aid ; and the Marshal begged the Emperor to 
go as quickly as possible to Sedan, to which place the army 

general officer. M. de Keratry, while admitting that this appointment 
was the work of the anti-Imperialists, justifies their act, and, by impli- 
cation, gives to the Emperor all the justification in the matter that the 
truth of history requires. M. de Keratry says: "The Opposition, in 
presenting to the Regent the name of the Marshal for the post of Com- 
mander-in-Chief, was moved only by a pure sentiment of patriotism, 
having in mind but one thing, the thoroughly tried military talent of 
the Marshal." 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 211 

would retire. The Emperor could not believe that the 
scene had so completely changed within a few hours; he 
therefore wished to remain with the First Corps, but at 
the solicitation of General Ducrot he decided to take the 
train, and arrived at eleven o'clock in the night at Sedan. 
Here he was urged to continue his route as far as Mezieres 
while the railway was still free. He could there rally the 
corps of General Vinoy, and establish a new center of 
resistance in one of the strongholds of the North; but he 
thought that, in this case, he would be accused of seeking 
his own personal safety, and he therefore preferred to share 
the fate of the army, whatever it might be. The equipages 
and escort having been left behind at Carignan, the Em- 
peror, alone and on foot, followed by his aides-de-camp, 
in the silence of the night entered the city of Sedan, which 
was about to be the theater of such terrible events. 

" Sedan, classed among the fortified places, is situated 
upon the right bank of the Meuse; only the suburbs of 
Torcy lie upon the left bank. They are covered by ad- 
vanced works which form a vast tete de pont. Formerly 
the city, owing to the feeble range of the cannon then in 
use, was protected by the hills which surround it. At the 
present time it is exposed to the artillery of the enemy when 
placed upon the heights which rise upon both sides of the 
Meui5e. Moreover, in the year 1870 it was incompletely 
armed, badly provisioned, and possessed no outworks. On 
the right bank of the river are two tributaries, which form 
right angles with it — the Floing below and the Givonne 
above the city. One of these little streams runs out from 
the village of Illy to that of Floing, and the other from the 
village of Givonne to that of Bezailles; they surround 
the territory where the battle was about to take place. The 
prominent points of the battle-field are the Calvary of Illy, 
near the village of the same name, and the forest of La 
Garenne, situated west of the village of Givonne. The 
only route upon which a free communication with Mezieres 



212 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

was possible was the highroad passing through the vil- 
lages of Floing, Saint Albert, Vrigne-aux-Bois, and Tume- 
court. 

* * In order to secure a retreat upon Mezieres, the narrow 
defile which extends from Floing, in the direction of 
Vrigne-aux-Bois, should have been strongly occupied, the 
place itself should have been abandoned, and the left wing 
ought to have rested upon the heights of Illy and of the 
Givonne. 

" General Ducrot, it must be recognized, had correctly 
estimated the position. It was at the Calvary of Illy 
that he wished to establish the center of resistance. On 
the 31st of August, however, the troops were placed in 
position around the town ; they were distributed in a semi- 
circle, from which Sedan as a center was distant some 
3,000 meters, the extremities touching the villages of 
Bazeilles and Floing. 

" From this semicircular position it was inevitable that 
the line of retreat must be toward the center; and that 
if the troops were repulsed, they would, by a natural in- 
stinct, precipitate themselves toward the city, which thus 
became an entonnoir (a funnel) to engulf them. To 
the north of Sedan are the remains of an abandoned en- 
trenchment called the Old Camp, which overlooks the 
surrounding ravines; and all the ground which extends 
to the south of this camp is covered, as General Ducrot 
says, ' with stone walls, with gardens and hedges, and 
with a certain number of houses, which, joining those at 
the lower end of Givonne, made of this spot a veritable 
labyrinth. Defended by a few solid troops, it would have 
been very difficult to dislodge them; but, on the contrary, 
if a large body of soldiers, repulsed and in disorder, should 
retire here for shelter, it would be impossible to rally and 
reform them.' 

" It was upon this uneven ground which we have just 
described that on the 1st of September, in the morning. 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 213 

the battle began. The enemy attacked simultaneously our 
two wings, evidently intending to surround us and cut oft" 
our retreat. 

" The Marshal, Duke of Magenta, at once repaired to 
the outposts, and the Emperor, to whom he had sent news 
of this movement, mounted his horse and followed him, 
accompanied by his staff and a troop of guides. 

* ' It is easy to understand his state of mind. No longer 
exercising the functions of General-in-Chief, he was not 
sustained by the feeling of responsibility which inspires the 
soul of him who commands; nor did he feel the uplifting 
excitement of those who are acting under orders, and who 
know that their devotion may lead to victory. The power- 
less witness of a foregone defeat, convinced that on this 
fatal day his life, as well as his death, was useless for the 
common safety, he advanced to the field of battle with that 
stolid resignation which faces danger without weakness, 
but also without enthusiasm. 

" On departing from the Sub-Prefecture, the Emperor 
met Marshal MacMahon, who was being brought back 
wounded in an ambulance wagon. After having exchanged 
a few words with him, he proceeded in the direction of the 
village of Bazeilles, where the division of marines was hotly 
engaged. At Balan, General de Vassoigne gave him an ac- 
count of the position of the troops. As every group of offi- 
cers immediately attracted the fire of the enemy, the Em- 
peror left his escort and most of his aides-de-camp, with a 
battalion of chasseurs that was screened by a wall, and went 
forward, followed only by four persons, towards an open 
height from which a view of the greater portion of the 
field of battle could be obtained. 

" At this moment General Ducrot, to whom Marshal 
MacMahon had transferred the command, was executing 
a retreat, which under the existing circumstances was the 
best course to take. The Emperor sent to him one of 
his orderly officers. Captain d'Hendicourt, to ascertain the 



214 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

direction he wished to give to the troops. This promising 
young officer never reappeared; he was probably killed 
by a shell. The entire ground upon which the party stood 
was plowed by the enemy's projectiles, that were bursting 
around them on every side. 

" After remaining several hours between La Moncelle 
and Givonne, the Emperor wished to go over to the lines 
of infantry which could be seen to the left, on the heights, 
but were separated from him by an impassable ravine. 
In order to reach them, he had to make a circuit, which 
brought him upon the ground cut across by hollows, hedges, 
and garden walls, that formed the labyrinth mentioned 
above. In the ravine, called the ' Bottom of Givonne,' the 
roads were crowded with the wounded, who were being 
carried to the ambulances ; and a park of artillery blocked 
the avenues, through which Goze's division could proceed 
only with the greatest difficulty. "When the Imperial party 
arrived near the old entrenched camp, a farther advance 
became impossible, as they met the infantry that occupied 
this place in the act of retiring in good order towards 
the town. It was now evident that every line of retreat 
was cut off by the enemy, who occupied the circumference ; 
for the projectiles directed toward the center struck the 
troops both in front and in the rear. Many of the 
soldiers, alleging that they were without cartridges, were 
hurrying towards the only gate of the town which re- 
mained open. 

" After having been during nearly five hours the wit- 
ness of a struggle the end of which could be foreseen, the 
Emperor, despairing of being able to reach the heights 
of Illy from the place where he was, decided to go back 
to the town to confer with the wounded Marshal, and in 
the hope of leaving it again through the gate that opens 
on the departmental road to Mezieres. Three officers of 
his staff had been wounded at his side and carried away 
by the soldiers ; these were the circumstances under which 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 215 

he returned to the Sub-Prefecture, several shells bursting 
in front of his horse, but without harming him.* 

" The road by which he wished to pass out, he ordered 
to be reconnoitered at once ; but he was informed that the 
Mezieres gate was barricaded, that it was impossible to 
get through it, and that the streets through which he had 
just come were already blocked by a confused mass of 
men, horses, and wagons. It was necessary, therefore, to 
remain in the town and await events. Toward three o 'clock 
an aide-de-camp of General de Wimpfen, who, as senior 
officer, had taken the command-in-chief, succeeded with 
great difficulty in making his way to the Sub-Prefecture. 
He came to propose to the Emperor to place himself at 
the head of such troops as could be rallied, and to make 
an attempt to cut through the enemy 's lines in the direction 
of Carignan. The first impulse of Napoleon III. was to 
accept the proposal ; but he soon saw that, not to speak 
of the difficulty of getting through the crowded streets on 
horseback, it would be unbecoming for him to sacrifice, in 
order to save himself, the lives of a great many soldiers, 
and to escape with the Commander-in-Chief, abandoning 
the rest of the army, and leaving it without a head, exposed 
to certain loss. He refused, therefore, to accept General 
de Wimpfen 's offer. 

" During this time the situation had assumed a more 
and more serious character. The heroic charges of the 
cavalry had not been able to arrest the advances of the 
enemy. The brave General Margueritte, mortally wounded, 

* With that forgetfulness of everything which was strictly personal 
to himself, so characteristic of him, the Emperor makes no allusion 
to the physical tortures he was all this time suffering. After he had dis- 
mounted, when no longer able to sit in the saddle, he was compelled 
several times, while walking over the ground he here describes, to stop 
and take hold of a tree to support himself, to keep from falling. 
"Finally," says M. Paul de Cassagnac, "I helped him into a carriage; 
and on arriving at the Sub-Prefecture, he walked some thirty yards 
leaning on my arm, scarcely able to drag himself along.'l 



216 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

had just been brought at his request beside the Emperor. 
At this moment the surrounding hills on both sides of 
the Meuse were lined with several hundred pieces of ar- 
tillery, which by a converging fire threw their projectiles 
into the city. Houses were on fire, roofs were crushed in, 
and death made many victims in the crowded streets, in 
the barracks which were transformed into hospitals, and 
in the courtyards, where soldiers from every branch of 
the service had taken refuge. 

" In the meantime the commanders of the three army 
corps. Generals Lebrun, Douay, and Ducrot, came one after 
the other to declare to the Emperor that further resistance 
had become impossible; that the soldiers, after having 
fought for twelve hours without rest or food, were discour- 
aged; that all those who had not been able to get into the 
town were huddled together in the trenches and against the 
walls ; and that it was necessary to come to some decision.* 

" From the day of leaving Chalons up to this time the 
Emperor had considered it to be his duty not to interfere in 
any way whatsoever with the arrangements and decisions 
of the Commander-in-Chief; but at this supreme moment, 
when, by an unheard-of fatality, 80,000 men appeared to 
be exposed to certain death without being able to make any 
resistance, he remembered that he was the sovereign ; that 
he had charge of souls; and that he ought not to let men 
be massacred before his eyes who on some future occasion 
might be able to serve their country. 

* " The streets were full of the wounded and the dead. All the su- 
perior officers had either been killed or wounded. As for our batteries, 
they were fought against ten times their number, superior also in range 
and accuracy of fire. These batteries were served until they were silenced 
or destroyed; in some of them not a horse, not a man was left. The cais- 
sons blew up like fireworks. The cavalry of Margueritte, those grizzly old 
chasseurs d'Afrique, those heroes, charged three times, and three times 
were dashed to pieces. They did their duty. But human strength has 
its limits; and when we entered into Sedan we were helpless — nothing 
more could be done." — General Ducrot-Wimpfen versus de Cassagnac. 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 217 

" Napoleon III. accordingly sent one of his aides-de- 
camp up to the citadel in order to assure himself of the state 
of things. The officer with very great difficulty succeeded 
in passing through the streets and in reaching the citadel, 
which itself was filled with soldiers who had taken refuge 
there. The report which this aide-de-camp brought back 
confirmed the words of the corps commanders. The Em- 
peror, in consequence, sent General Lebrun to General de 
"Wimpfen with the advice that he should ask for a suspen- 
sion of hostilities, which would give time, if it were ac- 
corded, to collect the wounded and to consider what it was 
best to do. General Lebrun not returning, and the number 
of victims increasing every moment, the Emperor took it 
upon himself to order that a flag of truce be hoisted. Na- 
poleon III. fully understood the responsibility he thereby 
incurred, and he foresaw the accusations which would be 
brought against him. The situation appeared to him in 
all its gravity; and the remembrance of a glorious past, 
in its contrast with the present, increased the bitterness of 
the moment. Who would ever admit that the army of 
Sebastopol and Solferino could be forced to lay down its 
arms? How would it ever be possible to make the world 
understand that, when confined within narrow limits, the 
more numerous the troops the greater must be the confu- 
sion, and the less the possibility of reestablishing the order 
indispensable for fighting? 

" The prestige which the French army so justly enjoyed 
was about to vanish in a moment; and, in the presence of 
a calamity without precedent, the Emperor, although hav- 
ing had no hand in the military movements that led to it, 
was to remain alone responsible in the eyes of the world 
for this great disaster, and for all the misfortunes which 
the w^ar might bring in its train! And, as if at this last 
hour nothing should be lacking to increase the gravity of 
the situation. General de Wimpfen sent his resignation to 
the Emperor ; thus leaving the overwhelmed and disbanded 



218 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

army without a chief, and without guidance, at a time when 
the greatest energy was necessary to establish a little order, 
and to treat with the enemy with a better chance of suc- 
cess. The resignation was not accepted; and the General- 
in-Chief was made to understand that, having commanded 
during the battle, his duty obliged him not to desert his 
post in these very critical circumstances. 

" While the white flag was being hoisted, a Prussian 
officer asked permission to enter head-quarters. 

" Through him it was learned that the King of Prussia 
was at the gates of the town, but that he was ignorant of 
the presence of Napoleon III. in Sedan. 

' ' Under these circumstances, the Emperor believed that 
the only thing which remained for him to do was to ad- 
dress himself directly to the ruler of Northern Germany. 

" It had so often been repeated in the journals that 
the King of Prussia was not making war against France, 
but against the Emperor only, that the latter was persuaded 
he might, by disappearing from the scene and putting 
himself into the hands of the victor, obtain the least dis- 
advantageous conditions for the army, and might give, 
at the same time, an opportunity to the Regent to conclude 
a peace in Paris. He therefore sent by General Reille, one 
of his aides-de-camp, a letter to the King of Prussia, in 
which he announced that he would surrender to him his 
sword. 

*' The King, surrounded by his staff, received General 
Reille, and taking in his hand the letter which he brought, 
opened it and read the following words: 

' ' ' Monsieur mon Frere : 

" ' N'ayant pas pu mourir au milieu de mes troupes, il 
ne me reste plus qu'a remettre mon epee entre les mains 
de votre Majeste. 

** * Je suis de votre Majeste le bon frere, 

" ' Napoleon.' 





o 
w 
I-; 
o 

< 
o 

W 

Eh 
W 

W 
< 



o 

H 
O 

W 
W 

Oh 

w 

I— ( 
1-5 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 219 

(" ' My Brother: 

" ' Having been unable to die among my troops, the 
only thing I can now do is to place my sword in the hands 
of your Majesty. 

" ' I am, your Majesty's good brother, 

" ' Napoleon.') 

" At first King William seemed astonished that the 
letter did not announce the capitulation of the town and 
army ; but having been informed that General de Wimpf en 
was the French Commander-in-Chief, he requested the 
presence of this General at the Prussian head-quarters that 
evening. ' ' * 

The meeting took place late in the evening, in the 
village of Donchery, the persons present being, on the one 
side, General von Moltke, Count Bismarck, General von 
Blumenthal, and a number of officers; and, on the other 
side. General de Wimp fen, General Castelnau, and Gen- 
eral Faure. General de Wimpfen opened the conference 
by asking what conditions the King of Prussia wished to 
impose upon the French army were it to surrender. ' ' They 
are very simple," replied General von Moltke; " the whole 
army are to be considered as prisoners, with their arms 
and baggage. We will allow the officers to retain their 
arms, as a testimonial of our esteem for their courage ; but 
they will be held as prisoners of war, like the troops. ' ' 

General de Wimpfen at first tried to obtain conces- 
sions by appealing to the generosity of the German com- 
mander. When he, however, saw that the latter remained 
immovable, he broke out as follows : 

" Well, if you cannot offer us better conditions, I 
will appeal to my army — to its honor; and I will succeed 
in breaking through your lines, or I will defend myself 
in Sedan." 

* " (Euvres Posthumes de Napoleon III." E. Lachaud, Paris, 1873, 
p. 325 ff. 



THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Whereupon the Prussian General, who was perfectly 
informed as to the situation of both armies, explained 
so clearly the actual state of things to the French com- 
mander, that General de Wimpfen, seeing that from a 
strategic point of view his threat was without weight, 
turned to the political side of the question, and said : 

" You are going to conclude peace, and doubtless you 
wish to do this at once. The French nation is more gen- 
erous and chivalrous than any other nation, and conse- 
quently it knows how to appreciate the generosity which 
is shown to it, and is grateful for the consideration that 
is bestowed upon it. If you accord to us terms which 
are flattering to the amour propre of our army, the nation 
will be equally flattered; and then the bitterness of the 
defeat will be diminished in the hearts of the people, and 
a peace that is concluded on such conditions will have a 
chance of being durable. 

" If you, on the contrary, insist upon rigorous meas- 
ures against us, you surely will excite anger and hatred 
in the heart of every soldier, and the pride of the whole 
nation will be grievously wounded; for it considers itself 
in fellowship w^ith the army and shares its emotions. 

" You, therefore, will awaken all the dangerous in- 
stincts that are slumbering under the cover of an advanced 
civilization, and you may kindle the flames of an intermi- 
nable war between France and Germany." 

Moltke remained silent, but Count Bismarck answer- 
ing, said: 

" At the first glance. General, your argument seems 
serious; but, in fact, it is only specious and cannot stand 
discussion. One ought to count, in general, very little 
upon gratitude, and never upon the gratitude of a nation. 
There are times when the gratitude of a sovereign may be 
expected; in some cases, also, that of his family; in some 
exceptional cases, entire confidence even may be placed in 
the gratitude of these. But I repeat it, one must expect 



i 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 221 

nothing from the gratitude of a nation. If the French 
nation were like any other nation; if it had solid institu- 
tions ; if, like our own, it lived in the reverence and respect 
of these institutions ; if there sat upon its throne a sovereign 
firmly established, then we could take into account the 
gratitude of the Emperor and his son. But in France, 
the Governments, during the last eighty years, have been 
so little durable, so multitudinous, they have changed with 
such extraordinary rapidity, and so entirely against all 
expectation, that one cannot count upon anything in your 
country. If a neighboring nation were to found hopes 
upon the friendship of a French sovereign, it would com- 
mit an act of craziness — it would he like building in the 
air. 

" Moreover, it would be folly to imagine that France 
could pardon our success. You are an irritable people, 
envious, jealous, and proud to excess. "Within the last two 
hundred years, France has declared war thirty times against 
Prussia, [correcting himself], against Germany; and this 
time you have declared war against us, as always, through 
jealousy, because you are not able to pardon us our victory 
of Sadowa. And yet Sadowa cost you nothing, and could 
diminish in no way your glory; but it has seemed to you 
that victory was a possession uniquely reserved for your- 
selves, that military glory was a monopoly of yours. You 
could not support by the side of you a nation as strong 
as you are; you have never been able to pardon us for 
Sadowa, where neither your interests nor your glory were 
at stake. And you never would pardon us the disaster of 
Sedan! Never! If we were to make peace now — in five 
years — in ten years — as soon as you could, you would begin 
the war over again. This is all the recognition we could 
expect from the French people! But we, we Prussians, 
just the opposite of you, are an honest and peaceable peo- 
ple; we are never disturbed by the desire of making con- 
quests ; and would like nothing better than to live in peace, 
16 



%%% THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

if you were not constantly exciting us by your quarrelsome 
and domineering disposition." 

It was not difficult to see, from these words of the 
German diplomatist, that, notwithstanding his remarks, he 
might have been willing to treat with the Emperor, and 
that only the fear of a change of Government decided him 
to insist upon those severe terms which would guarantee 
peace of themselves, even in case of such a change. 

Had General de Wimpfen, therefore, tried to remove 
this fear and to defend the loyalty of the nation, or had 
Count Bismarck been convinced of the loyalty of the Gen- 
eral himself, then the Count might have been induced to 
qualify his statements and to moderate his demands. But 
the French General made no adequate reply ; and when the 
German statesman, who evidently had desired to sound 
the opinion of General de Wimpfen, saw that the French 
plenipotentiary did not think for a moment of protesting 
against the idea of a possible insurrection in Paris and 
of an eventual dethronement of the Emperor, he continued 
his attacks upon the unreliable character of the French 
people. 

" France has not changed. It is she that has desired 
war. , . . We know very well that the reasonable and 
healthy part of France was not inclined towards this war; 
nevertheless, it also finally accepted the idea of it willingly. 
We know, too, that it was not the army which was most hos- 
tile to us. The party in France which forcibly desired 
war was the one which creates and destroys governments. 
In your country, this is the populace ; it is also the journal- 
ists [and he put a stress upon this word] ; it is these we 
wish to punish ; we must therefore go to Paris. Who knows 
what will happen? Perhaps there will be formed in your 
country one of those governments that respect nothing, 
that make laws for their own pleasure ; that will not recog- 
nize the capitulation you will have signed for the army; a 
government which perhaps may force the officers to violate 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 223 

the promises they have given us; for, of course, they will 
say that they have to defend themselves at any price." * 

These words characterize plainly enough the reasons 
which made the German authorities distrust the expediency 
of concessions they otherwise might have granted, and led 
them to insist upon a surrender on the severe conditions 
which they had at first demanded. General de Wimpfen, 
as will be seen, was finally compelled to accept them. 

" On the morning of the 2d of September, Napoleon 
III., attended by the Prince de la Moskowa, stepped into 
a ' droschke ' drawn by two horses, and drove to the Prus- 
sian lines. General Reille preceded him, on horseback, in 
order to inform Count Bismarck of his coming. The Em- 
peror, counting upon returning to the town, did not take 
leave of the troops of the line, nor of the battalion of 
Grenadiers ; nor of the Cent Gardes, who were his habitual 
body-guard. When the drawbridge of the southern gate 
of Sedan was lowered, the Zouaves, who were on duty there, 
saluted him again with the cry of ' Vive VEmpereur! ' 
It was the last adieu he was ever to hear. 

" Having arrived within a quarter of a league of Don- 
ehery, and not wishing to go to the Prussian head-quarters, 
the Emperor stopped at a little house on the side of the 
road, and waited there for the Chancellor of the Confedera- 
tion of the North. The Chancellor, informed by General 
Reille, arrived soon after. ' ' -j- 

Count Bismarck, in a report which he sent to the Prus- 
sian King, has described what then took place. The fol- 
lowing is an almost literal translation of his words from 
a French text : 

DoNCHERY, 2d September. 

" Having gone, last evening, by order of your Majesty, 
to this place, to take part in the negotiations for the sur- 

* Cf. " La Journ^e de Sedan, par le General Ducrot," pp. 53 £f. 
t " CEuvres Posthumes de Napoleon III.," p. 245. 



224 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

render, these were suspended until about one o'clock at 
night, in compliance with a request on the part of General 
de Wimpfen. Already General von Moltke had declared 
in the most categorical manner that no other condition 
would be admitted than that of laying down arms; and 
that the bombardment would recommence at nine o'clock 
in the morning, if at that hour the surrender had not been 
made. 

" About six o'clock this morning the arrival of General 
Reille was announced. He informed me that the Emperor 
wished to see me, and that he was already on his way 
hither from Sedan. The General immediately returned 
to announce to his Majesty that I was following him; and 
shortly after, about half-way between here and Sedan, near 
Frenois, I found myself in the presence of the Emperor. 
His Majesty, with three superior officers, was in an open 
carriage, and by the side of the carriage there were three 
other officers on horseback, among whom were Generals 
Castelnau, Reille, Vaubert, and Moskowa (the last ap- 
pearing to be wounded in the foot), who were personally 
known to me. 

'' When I came to the carriage I dismounted, and going 
up to his Majesty and putting my foot on the step of 
the carriage, I asked him what were his commands. The 
Emperor immediately expressed a wish to see your Majesty, 
being under the impression that your Majesty was in Don- 
chery. After I had replied that your Majesty was at 
that moment in the head-quarters at Vendresse, two hours' 
distant, the Emperor asked if your Majesty had appointed 
a place to which he should proceed, and, if you had not, 
what was my opinion on the subject. I replied that I 
had come here late at night, in the dark, and that the 
locality was unknown to me. I offered for his accommoda- 
tion the house I myself occupied at Donchery, which I was 
ready to leave at once. The Emperor accepted the offer, 
and the carriage proceeded at a walk toward Donchery. 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 225 

" About a hundred yards, however, from the bridge 
over the Meuse, at the entrance to the town, he stopped 
before the house of an artisan, lonely in its situation, and 
asked me if he could descend there from his carriage. I 
requested Count Bismarck-Bohlen, Counselor of Legation, 
who had in the meantime overtaken me, to examine the 
house; and, although he informed me that it was small 
and poorly furnished, the Emperor got down from the 
carriage and requested me to follow him. There, in a small 
room which contained but one table and two chairs, I 
had about an hour's conversation with him. 

" His Majesty insisted particularly upon obtaining fa- 
vorable terms of capitulation for the army. I declined 
from the outset to discuss this matter with him, because 
the purely military questions were to be settled between 
Generals von Moltke and de Wimpfen. On the other hand, 
I asked his Majesty if he was inclined to enter into negotia- 
tions for peace. The Emperor replied that, as a prisoner, 
he was not now in a position to do so. And when I 
further asked who, in his opinion, actually represented 
authority in France, his Majesty referred me to the Gov- 
ernment then existing in Paris. 

'' After this point had been cleared up — about which 
one could not form a definite opinion from the letter sent 
yesterday by the Emperor to your Majesty — I recognized, 
and I did not conceal the fact from the Emperor, that the 
situation to-day, as yesterday, presented no practical side 
but the military one ; and I dwelt upon the paramount ne- 
cessity, in consequence, of having in our hands, through 
the surrender of Sedan first of all, a material guarantee 
that would assure to us the military advantages that we 
had now gained. 

" I had on the previous evening, with General von 
Moltke, discussed and examined every side of the question 
whether it would be possible, without injury to the interests 
of Germany, to concede to the military honor of an army 



226 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

that had fought bravely, conditions more favorable than 
those already demanded. After due deliberation, we were 
both compelled to persist in our negative opinion. If, 
therefore, General von Moltke, who meantime had joined 
us, returned to your Majesty to lay before you the wishes 
of the Emperor, it was not, as your Majesty knows, to 
speak in their favor. 

* ' The Emperor then went into the open air, and invited 
me to sit beside him before the door of the house. His 
Majesty asked me if it was not possible to let the French 
army cross the Belgian frontier, so that it might be there 
disarmed and interned. I had discussed this contingency 
also with General von Moltke on the previous evening, and, 
for the reasons already alluded to, I declined to consider 
the suggestion. 

' ' The political situation I, on my part, did not broach, 
nor did the Emperor either, only in so far as he deplored 
the misfortunes of the war. He declared that he himself 
had not wished for war, but that he had been compelled 
to make it by the pressure of French public opinion. 

" In the meantime, after inquiries in the town, and in 
particular through reconnoiterings by the officers of the 
general staff, it was decided that the Chateau of Bellevue, 
near Frenois, which was not occupied by the wounded, was 
a suitable place for the reception of the Emperor. I an- 
nounced it to his Majesty, saying that I would propose 
Frenois to your Majesty as the place of meeting; and I 
asked the Emperor if he would not prefer to go there 
immediately, since a longer stay at this small house was 
not becoming to him, and as he perhaps was in want of 
some repose. 

" His Majesty readily accepted the suggestion, and I 
conducted him, preceded by a guard of honor chosen from 
your Majesty's regiment of body-guards, to the Chateau 
of Bellevue where the staff and the carriages of the 
Emperor, coming directly from Sedan had already arrived. 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 227 

I found there also General de Wimpfen; and, while wait- 
ing for the return of General von Moltke, General Podbiel- 
ski resumed with him the negotiations concerning the 
capitulation that had been broken off yesterday, in the 
presence of Lieutenant-Colonel von Verdy and the chief 
of General de Wimpfen 's staff, the last two drawing up 
the official report. 

" I took no part in these negotiations except, at the 
beginning, by reciting the political and legal aspects of 
the situation, in conformity with what the Emperor him- 
self had said to me. But at this instant I received by Ritt- 
meister Count von Noslitz a notice from General von 
Moltke that your Majesty did not wish to see the Emperor 
until after the capitulation had been signed. This an- 
nouncement extinguished on both sides the hope that any 
other conditions than those already stipulated would be 
agreed to. 

" I went after this to Chehery to see your Majesty in 
order that I might announce to you the position of affairs ; 
and on the way I met General von Moltke, with the text 
of the capitulation as approved by your Majesty; which, 
after we came together at Frenois, was, without discussion, 
accepted and signed. 

" The conduct of General de Wimpfen, like that of 
the other French generals on the preceding night, was 
very dignified. This brave officer, however, could not re- 
frain from expressing to me his profound distress at being 
called upon, forty-eight hours after his arrival from 
Africa, and six hours after his receiving the command, to 
sign his name to a capitulation so cruel to the French arms. 
But the want of provisions and ammunition, and the abso- 
lute impossibility of any further defense, had, he said, 
laid upon him, as a General, the duty of sinking his per- 
sonal feeling, since more bloodshed could not make any 
change for the better in the situation. 

" Our agreement to let the officers depart with their 



228 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

arms on parole was received with lively gratitude, as an 
indication of the intention of your Majesty — exceeding 
even the demands of our military and political interests — 
to spare the feelings of an army that had fought so 
bravely. To this sentiment General de Wimpfen has 
given emphatic expression in a letter in which he has re- 
turned his thanks to General von Moltke for the considerate 
and courteous manner in which the negotiations on his 
side were conducted." 

After the capitulation had been signed, General de 
Wimpfen submitted the document to the Emperor, who 
was in a room on the floor above. Soon after, the King 
of Prussia and the Prince Royal came up to the chateau on 
horseback, accompanied by a small escort. 

The meeting between the sovereigns was most painful. 
Both the King and the Prince Royal expressed for the Em- 
peror the deepest sympathy, and assured him of their readi- 
ness to do everything in their pOAver to ameliorate the sad- 
ness of his situation. The King then assigned to him the 
Palace at Wilhelmshohe as a residence, and permitted him 
to send in cipher a despatch to the Empress. In this des- 
patch the Emperor announced briefly the disaster at 
Sedan, and advised the Empress to endeavor to negotiate 
a peace. 

How profoundly the Emperor was affected by the disas- 
trous end of the campaign is made painfully evident in 
the two letters which he wrote to the Empress immediately 
after the capitulation of the army. They are as follows: 

TRANSLATION 

" QuARTiER Imperial, 2d September, 1870. 
" My dear Eugenie: 

" It is impossible for me to express to you what I have 
suffered and what I suffer. We have made a march con- 
trary to all principles and to common sense. This could 




NAPOLEON III. 

From his last photograpli taken by W. and D. Downey in 1872. 



SEDAN AND BISMARCK 229 

not fail to bring on a catastrophe. In fact, it has done so. 
I should have preferred death to the pain of witnessing 
so disastrous a capitulation ; nevertheless, it was, under the 
circumstances, the sole means of avoiding the slaughter 
of 80,000 persons. 

' ' Would that all my torments were centered here ! But 
I think of you, of our son, of our unhappy country. May 
God protect it ! What will become of Paris ? 

' ' I have just seen the King. He spoke to me with tears 
in his eyes of the distress I must feel. He has put at my 
disposal one of his chateaux near Cassel. But what does 
it matter where I go ! . . . I am in despair. Adieu. I 
kiss you tenderly. Napoleon." 

TRANSLATION 

"Bouillon, September 3, 1870. 

'' My dear Eugenie: 

" After the irreparable misfortunes that I have wit- 
nessed, I think of the dangers you run, and I am awaiting 
news from Paris with intense anxiety. 

" The present catastrophe is what might have been ex- 
pected. Our advance was the height of imprudence, and, 
moreover, very badly managed. But I could never have 
believed that the catastrophe would prove so frightful. 
Imagine an army surrounding a fortified town and itself 
surrounded by far superior forces. At the end of several 
hours our troops made an entrance into the town. Then 
the town was filled with a compact crowd, and upon this 
dense mass of human heads the bombs were falling from 
all sides, killing the people who were in the streets, bursting 
through roofs and setting houses on fire. 

" In this extremity the generals came to tell me that 
all resistance was impossible. There were neither regular 
troops, nor ammunition, nor provisions remaining. A 
charge was attempted, but was unsuccessful. 



230 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

" I remained four hours upon the field of battle. 
" The march to-day in the midst of the Prussian troops 
was veritable torture. Adieu. I kiss you tenderly. 

" Napoleon." 

The Emperor had yet two years to live; but at Sedan 
he was struck with death. Humiliated and overwhelmed 
with grief on that day, his heart was broken by the outra- 
geous accusations that continued to pursue him without res- 
pite. He harbored little bitterness of feeling toward his 
accusers. He even made excuses for some of those who, 
forgetting his entire past, believed the charges preferred 
against him; but they caused him no less suffering. His 
responsibility he accepted, but it was never out of his mind. 
Often a broken phrase escaping his lips, as if in spite of 
himself, betrayed to those about him the persistence of that 
fixed idea which haunted him to the tomb. " Conneau," 
said he, in a weak and barely intelligible voice, the instant 
before he expired, " Conneau, were you at Sedan? " 
These words, the last that he uttered, plainly revealed 
the ever-open wound. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 

Effects in Paris of the news of the first reverses — " Nous sommes Irakis " 
— The resignation of the Ministry — General de Pahkao — A new Min- 
istry is formed — General Trochu is appointed Military Governor — 
An unsuccessful mission — The announcement of the disaster of Se- 
dan — A Cabinet Council is convoked — General Trochu is requested 
to come to the Palace — The night of September 3d at the Tuileries 
— The morning of September 4th — The council of Ministers — A 
deputation is sent to the Empress — Her Majesty is advised to resign 
— Her reply — The proposition of M. Thiers — The Palais-Bourbon is 
invaded by the mob — The conduct of General Trochu — The Em- 
peror pronounces it "flagrant treason" — The simple facts — A pan- 
demonium — The last session of the Senate — " I yield to force. " 

|E have now to return to the French capital, 
where we saw the population so hopeful and 
exultant at the outbreak of the war. 

How changed is everything here ! The first 
bad news had effected a revulsion in the popular feeling; 
and the general intoxication was followed by a sudden and 
complete reaction, as soon as the defeats of the French 
arms at Wissembourg, Froeschwiller, and Forbach became 
known. 

If the misfortunes of their country had merely sobered 
the minds of the people, and produced among them a clear 
understanding of the actual state of things, and the 
consciousness of having been themselves the cause of 
the disasters, the result might have been highly beneficial, 
and all the mistakes might perhaps still have been repaired. 
As it was, the first reverses only prepared the way for 

231 




232 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

new ones ; for in the panic that followed, the people, instead 
of strengthening the hands of the Government, madly 
strove in every way to weaken its hold on the country and 
to paralyze its efforts to meet the requirements of the 
situation. 

On the 8th of August, the Empress issued a proclama- 
tion, 

" Frenchmen," said she, " the beginning of the war is 
unfavorable to us; we have met with a check. Be firm in 
the presence of this reverse, and let us make haste to repair 
it. Let there be among us but one party — that of France ; 
but one standard — that of the national honor. I am here 
in the midst of you; and, faithful to my mission and to 
my duty, you will see me the first in the place of danger 
to defend the flag of France." 

But she appealed in vain to the patriotism and the 
chivalry of the nation. 

Before the beginning of the war the opposition of the 
people to the will of the sovereign had prevented him 
from making the necessary preparations ; and as a conse- 
quence the army had been defeated ; but those who had vio- 
lently opposed every proposal to increase the efficiency of 
the army, far from blaming themselves, now accused the 
Government of negligence, and held it responsible for the 
loss of the first battles. 

To abolish the existing Ministry, therefore, became the 
chief desire of the demoralized and discontented people. 
There was a great discordance of opinion, however, with 
regard to the persons by whom it should be replaced. 
All were clamoring that something should be done, but 
no one seemed to know what ought to be done. Some be- 
lieved it would be sufficient, in order to obtain the immedi- 
ate triumph of the French arms, simply to write the word 
*' liepublic " upon the flag; others proclaimed that the 
presence of the Count de Chambord upon the throne would 
have that effect — by securing for France alliances; but ou 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 233 

one point all the enemies of the Empire agreed, viz., that 
the Deputies should be called together, and that the 01- 
livier Cabinet should be overthrown. 

The people, dazed or stung to madness by defeat, forgot 
their own interests and the welfare of their country ; while 
an unscrupulous Press, instead of trying to aid the Govern- 
ment in its difficult task, by urging the population to 
keep calm, and by informing them that the safety of the 
State, that even the integrity of France, depended on the 
union of its citizens in the defense of their fatherland, 
took special pains to incite their readers to a revolution, 
by appealing to their political animosities and prejudices, 
and, finally, by telling them that they had been betrayed. 

Among a people essentially democratic, the national 
vanity is a force that is apt to dominate the public intelli- 
gence and to silence conscience. The people can do no 
wrong; they are always wise and blameless. If they meet 
with disasters and defeat, it is never through any fault of 
theirs, but is attributed to the ignorance and folly, or 
treachery even, of their official representatives. 

To the foreigner knowing something of the organization 
of the French army sent into the field in 1870, and of 
the causes which had determined that organization, noth- 
ing could sound more pitiful or contemptible than the cries 
of " nous sommes traliis " with which wounded vanity 
filled the air of the capital, while courage and self-abnega- 
tion, and all that was noblest in France, were yielding 
up their lives in a desperate struggle with overwhelming 
numbers to defend the honor of the country and protect 
and preserve the patrimony of the people. 

Betrayed ! Yes. The French were betrayed ; but not 
by Napoleon III., nor by the generals, whose misfortune 
it was to lead the armies of France to defeat; but by the 
men who persistently refused to give to the Emperor the 
military organization which he had called for, and who, 
with an ignorant incomprehension of the political aims of 



234 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

the Prussian Government, and stupidly refusing to recog- 
nize the military power of Germany after it had been 
clearly revealed to the world, were incessantly clamoring 
for war and a compensation for Sadowa, and boasting of 
the invincibility of the French army. 

If the French people were betrayed in 1870, it was by 
political demagogues in the Chamber of Deputies or speak- 
ing through the press, who on the one hand magnified the 
burden of the war budget, talked of vast and needless ex- 
penditures, and denounced the army as a menace to liberty ; 
while on the other hand they flattered the people with 
phrases until they actually believed they were unconquer- 
able. 

The French people were rudely awakened from this il- 
lusive dream by the German guns at Woerth and Forbach. 
But it was their own fault if they began to pay the penalty 
then, which they never since have ceased to pay, in armies 
surrendered, provinces lost, the horrors of the Commune, 
immense indemnities, the public debt doubled, taxes 
enormously increased, a remorseless conscription law that 
forces every able-bodied Frenchman to serve in the army 
for three years, and, most humiliating of all — for as Renan 
has said, " La France soiiffre tout excepts d'etre mediocre " 
— in being compelled to witness and to acknowledge the fall 
of their country from its ancient position of leadership 
among the great Powers of Europe. And all this through 
the failure to make, for the contingency of a war that was 
imminent, such provision as common sense should have rec- 
ognized as necessary for the national security. 

What a warning of the danger of being caught unpre- 
pared for war! The Franco-German War of 1870 exliib- 
ited once more to the world the irreparable consequences of 
a nation losing its instinctive consciousness of its military 
needs — of permitting itself to be enticed away from all 
thought or concern for the public welfare by the demands 
of individual and private interest, the accumulation of 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 235 

wealth, the love of luxury, and the display of personal 
possessions. 

For it must be admitted that not the least among the 
indirect causes of the disasters that overwhelmed the 
French armies, as well as of the final collapse of the Im- 
perial regime, was the extraordinary commercial prosperity 
of the country from 1852 to 1870. This was the period of 
the greatest industrial activity that France had ever before 
known. Vast fortunes were rapidly made and as rapidly 
dissipated, and Frenchmen amused themselves. It is in 
such times, when " tout bourgeois veut hdtir comme les 
grands seigneurs/^ that the solidarity of society is lost sight 
of, and the State is exposed to the dangers that follow in 
the train of a sordid and incoherent individualism. 

Since the Emperor, before leaving for the field, had 
unfortunately promised that the National Assembly should 
be convoked in case the nation desired it, the Empress Re- 
gent had to give way to the general clamor, and the session 
of the Legislative Body was accordingly fixed for the 9th 
of August. 

At the very first meeting of the Deputies, the Ministers 
recognized that they would have to resign. Her Majesty 
could not help accepting their resignation; and she conse- 
quently was compelled to choose a new Cabinet. The wishes 
of the Radicals were thus fulfilled, and a ministerial crisis 
was added to the perils of the situation. 

The Empress, after a short deliberation with her Coun- 
selors, sent a message to Count de Palikao, summoning him 
to come without delay to the capital. 

The Count arrived in Paris on the morning of the 10th, 
and immediately hastened to the palace. Notwithstanding 
the fact that he had been somewhat neglected at the begin- 
ning of the w^ar, and that younger officers had obtained im- 
portant positions and commands in the army in the field, 
while he was obliged to remain at Lyons, he w^as anxious 



2S6 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

to do all in his power to aid the Regent and to defend 
his country. 

When his arrival was announced, the Empress, who at 
the time was with her ministers, rose, and, stepping forward 
to meet him, said: " General, I have sent for you because 
I have a great act of devotion to ask of you." Count de 
Palikao answered : " I am ready to show all my devotion 
to the Empress and to my country. Will your Majesty 
please indicate what you desire of me? " 

* ' I ask of you to be our Minister of War, ' ' the Empress 
replied. 

That was not exactly an enviable position. Neverthe- 
less, after having hesitated for some moments, and after 
having stated that he had little experience in political 
affairs, that he was a soldier, and not accustomed to speak 
in public, Count de Palikao accepted. His patriotism was, 
however, to undergo a still more serious test. 

" General," said the Empress, " since you have sub- 
mitted, you must sacrifice yourself entirely. You must 
form a new Ministry. ' ' * 

Such a mission was exceedingly difficult for a man who 
had spent nearly all his life in camp, and the responsibil- 
ities connected with it might have deterred many men. As, 
however, the Empress and her Counselors insisted, and 
maintained that there was no other man who could form 
a Cabinet that would have any chance of permanency, he 
finally agreed also to this proposition. 

Count de Palikao was one of those old soldiers who 
never discuss a point when there is a duty in question, 
but who go right to work without phrases. After some 
hours of labor, thanks to his patriotism, he was able to 
present to her Majesty and the Chamber the list of persons 
whom he proposed for the new Cabinet. It was constituted 

* Cf. " Enquete Parlementaire sur les Actes du Gouvemement de 
la Defense Nationale," tome i, p. 164 ff. 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 237 

as follows: Count de Palikao himself had the portfolio of 
War; Henri Chevreau became Minister of the Interior; 
Magne was named Minister of Finance ; Granperret, Minis- 
ter of Justice; Clement Duvernois, Minister of Commerce; 
Admiral Rigault de Genouilly kept his place as Minister 
of the Navy ; Baron Jerome David was appointed Minister 
of Public Works ; the Prince de la Tour d'Auvergne became 
Minister for Foreign Affairs; Brame, Minister of Public 
Instruction; and Busson-Billault was appointed President 
of the State Council. 

It now devolved upon this new Ministry to satisfy the 
popular feeling with regard to the command of the army. 
How this was accomplished we have seen. The Cabinet 
granted the wish of the Opposition, and the result was 
that General Leboeuf resigned, and the Emperor laid down 
his military command. 

This change in the general administration proved dis- 
astrous; for, however unfit General Leboeuf may have 
been, it was he who had made all the preparations for the 
campaign; and to depose him, and entrust his position to 
any one else, however capable, necessarily brought about 
confusion; since it was impossible for his successor to 
efficiently discharge the duties of his most important office 
without becoming acquainted not only with the general 
state of things, but with a great multitude of essential 
details as well. And for such studies there was no time, 
in the midst of the serious events which were then follow- 
ing each other in quick succession. 

Other circumstances, moreover, aggravated the situa- 
tion. General Trochu, who, as already mentioned, had been 
appointed by the Emperor Military Governor of Paris, 
entered the city at the head of an enormous army of Gardes 
Mobiles, and soon assumed there a position which was 
altogether exceptional. 

When he presented himself before the Empress Regent, 
in order to announce to her his nomination, her Majesty 
17 



THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

was at first very much startled. She accepted, however, 
the appointment, and finally became reconciled to it, 
because a number of persons about her seemed to have 
confidence in the new Governor. 

The events which followed proved that in selecting the 
Governor a great mistake had been made; and to the Em- 
peror, as well as to the Regent, who had been induced to 
believe in the loyalty of the man, it was soon to be revealed 
with startling effect that the sympathies of General Trochu 
were not what they should have been, but that at heart he 
was with the enemies of the Imperial dynasty. 

During the evening of the 2d of September there were 
rumors of a disaster at Sedan, and M. Jerome David, a 
member of the Cabinet, received a private despatch an- 
nouncing that the Emperor had been taken prisoner. But 
in the absence of official news, Paris at the time was full 
of the wildest rumors. Nevertheless, the Empress was 
greatly moved by these reports, and they produced upon 
the public in general a state of excitement or conster- 
nation that was paralyzing and fatal to any well-con- 
ceived intelligent effort to assist the sovereign to meet the 
impending crisis. One of the first thoughts that occurred 
to some of the friends of her Majesty was, that BI. Thiers 
might perhaps be induced to come to her assistance, or, at 
least, to consent to aid her with his counsel. And, curiously 
enough, a precedent for this idea was found in the course 
taken by Marie Antoinette, who, in circumstances in some 
respects similar, had appealed to Mirabeau and had ob- 
tained from him the reply, " Madame, la monarchie est 
sauvee." And then, again, had not M. Thiers sent word 
to the Emperor, only a few weeks before, that the time 
might come when he could be of service to the Imperial 
Government? And so it was that M. Prosper Merimee, 
a friend of the Empress from her childhood, was requested 
to see M. Thiers and ascertain if he would consent to give 
to her Majesty the benefit of his counsel. And, M. Merimee 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 239 

failing to obtain a satisfactory reply, immediately after- 
ward, on the same day, M. Ayguesvives was entrusted with 
the same mission, but equally without success; for M. 
Thiers, whatever may have been the quality of his patriot- 
ism, was altogether too astute to embark his political for- 
tunes in a sinking ship. 

The Empress herself \ad no knowledge of this proceed- 
ing. Nor is the incident of any special consequence, ex- 
cept as it throws a vivid light upon the disarray and de- 
moralization existing at the time about the Court and in 
official circles. 

It was about half past four o'clock on the 3d of Sep- 
tember, when M. de Vougy, the Director of the Telegraphic 
Service, brought to the Tuileries the despatch in which the 
Emperor announced to his consort the disaster of Sedan. 
M. Chevreau, when he had read the communication, pale 
with terror and struck dumb by the calamity, hastened 
to the Empress and handed to her the ominous paper that 
contained only two lines, but two lines of the most terrible 
significance : 

" L'armee est defaite et captive; n' ay ant pu me faire 
tuer au milieu de mes soldats, j'ai du me constituer prison- 
nier pour sauver l'armee. — Napoleon.'^ 

(The army has been defeated and captured. Having 
been unable to get killed in the midst of my soldiers, I 
have been obliged to give myself up as a prisoner in order 
to save the army.) 

With a cry of anguish, the Empress, who had risen 
to meet her Minister, sank back into her seat. The weak- 
ness of the woman succumbed to this fearful blow of fate, 
and the hot tears came rushing into her eyes. For a few 
painful moments she remained silent; her distress was too 
acute for speech or thought. She then arose and retired 
to her private cabinet. But after a little while she revived, 
and becoming conscious of her responsibilities as Regent, 



240 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

and stimulated by the hope that even yet all was not lost, 
began to think what it was her duty to do, in view of the 
new situation that had been created, and what measures 
should be taken to limit, or prevent, if possible, some of its 
most appalling and disastrous consequences. A Cabinet 
Council was called by her, and half an hour later the Minis- 
ters met together for the purpose of considering what 
should be done to check the advance of the Prussians and 
safeguard the interests of France. The sitting lasted until 
nearly nine o'clock. 

A new coup-d'Etat might have saved the dynasty; but 
the Regent, as well as the majority of her Ministers, was 
decidedly against such a measure. When the question 
arose whether the Tuileries and other public buildings 
should be defended by an armed force, in case of necessity, 
the Regent, while she consented that the Chamber of Depu- 
ties should be protected by troops, positively refused to 
have the Tuileries protected except by the usual guard. 
She expressly insisted that orders should be given to the 
soldiers not to fire upon the people, whatever might happen, 
and she declared it to be her wish that not a drop of French 
blood should be shed for the preservation of her life.* 

The only means which now remained for saving the 
Government was to try to obtain the spontaneous assistance 
of all its forces ; and it was recognized that General Trochu 
alone, on account of his position and his popularity, would 
be able to exercise the desired influence upon the troops 
in Paris. Should he show himself resolute to defend the 
Government, then it was certain he would carry along with 
him the National Guards and defeat the hopes of the 
Republican agitators. Her Majesty therefore sought to 
obtain the assistance of the Governor of Paris, whose spe- 
cial mission it was to defend the Government and provide 
for the security of the capital, and upon whose loyalty and 

* " Enquete Parlementaire," tome i, p. 154. 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 241 

support she confidently counted. For this purpose she 
requested Admiral Jurien de la Graviere to inform General 
Trochu that she wished very much to see him. General 
Trochu sent back word that he had just returned from 
a visit to the forts, that he was very tired, and had not 
yet dined. The Empress expressed her surprise on being 
told the reason given by General Trochu for not immedi- 
ately complying with her request. " He has not had his 
dinner! " she exclaimed; " neither have I had mine. Is 
it becoming, at an hour like this, to think first of our din- 
ners? " And then she sent M. Chevreau, the Minister of 
the Interior, to him, to announce the contents of the tele- 
gram which she had received from the Emperor, and to 
request him to come at once to the palace, in order to de- 
liberate with her in regard to the necessary preparations 
for an emergency. 

M. Chevreau hastened to the Louvre and delivered this 
message to General Trochu. He described to him the 
anguish and despair of the Regent. " She has received 
the most cruel blow," he said, " as a sovereign, as a wife, 
and as a mother ; there is no portion of her heart that does 
not bleed. She needs to have near her devotion and friend- 
ship. Go to her; your presence will do her good." 

The General answered that he had just dismounted 
from his horse; that he was tired; that he had not yet 
dined, but that he would come in the evening, after his 
dinner, to see her Majesty.* 

M. Chevreau left General Trochu very much astonished 
at his trivial excuses, but in the persuasion that the Gov- 
ernor would, nevertheless, go to the Tuileries. In fact, how 
could any one believe that a soldier would refuse to meet 
his sovereign, who had appealed to him for counsel, were 
it only as a mark of sympathy for a woman in misfortune, 
especially when he had taken upon himself the duty of 

* " L'Empire et la Defense de Paris," par le General Trochu, p. 82. 



242 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

aiding and defending her? General Troehu, however, did 
not go to the palace that evening. Again and again he 
was sent for, but could not be found. 

Until late in the evening of Saturday, the 3d, the en- 
tourage of the Empress had not lost their confidence in the 
ability of the Imperial Government to maintain itself. It 
was reported that, the Radicals having approached General 
Troehu, he had replied: " Don't count on me. I shall 
remain faithful to the duty I have accepted ' ' ; and that, 
on the other hand. General de Palikao had said openly that 
he would not hesitate a moment to send the Governor of 
Paris to Vincennes, if he suspected him to be a traitor. But 
with the declining day the occupants of the Tuileries began 
to grow anxious. The reports received became more and 
more alarming. All night long the Empress was occupied 
in opening despatches that came in from every side, some 
communicating the poignant details of the recent battles; 
others reporting the openly hostile manifestations that 
were taking place in the streets of Paris ; that a plot, even, 
had been laid to seize her as a hostage; but not one word 
of good news, not one word of encouragement, came from 
without to brighten the sinister story of misfortune that 
was breaking her heart, or to lighten the burden of official 
duties that was overwhelming her. That night there was 
a sitting of the Chamber of Deputies. But not a Minister, 
not a person, came to inform her Majesty what resolutions 
had been taken, or to report to her the proceedings at this 
important meeting. Bravely she strove to support, without 
faltering, the cruel blows that were falling upon her, and 
with admirable fortitude devoted every energy of her 
being to the defense of the nation. After a night passed 
without a moment's rest, at seven o'clock the Empress 
retired to the little chapel attached to her apartment, there 
to fall upon her knees and invoke the Divine compassion 
and assistance. Half an hour later, as a Sister of Charity, 
she visited the hospital that had been established at the 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE MS 

Tuileries, in the great Salle des Spectacles, near the Pavil- 
ion de ]\Iarsan, and which was filled with the wounded 
who had been brought back to Paris. 

Amid all these occupations and distractions, she found 
time to send a despatch to her mother, the Countess de 
Monti jo, who was in Madrid, announcing the disaster at 
Sedan, and closing with words that revealed a spirit un- 
daunted, and her indomitable resolve to do her duty, let 
come what might: 

'' Keep up your courage, dear mother. If France 
wishes to defend herself, she is able to. I shall do my 
duty. Your unhappy daughter, Eugenie." 

At half past eight o'clock the Council was to meet. 
Just before this meeting it was suggested to the Empress, 
by one of her friends, that General Trochu could not be 
trusted. But her Majesty would not listen to what was 
said; had not the Governor given his orders that cav- 
alry be posted at the Palais-Bourbon, and the Tuileries 
guarded? and had not General Trochu also sent word that 
he would be present at the meeting of the Council ? 

When the hour fixed for the meeting had already 
passed, and General Trochu had not yet arrived, M. Chev- 
reau asked the Empress to let the Ministers wait for the 
Governor, contrary to all usage, so necessary was his pres- 
ence at this Council. At last the General made his ap- 
pearance, and saluted the Empress with the vague bom- 
bastic phrase: " Madame, voild I'heure des grands perils! 
Nous ferons tout ce que nous devons." (Madame, behold 
the hour of great perils has come ! We shall do everything 
that we ought to do.) * 

After this the General had some private conversation 
with her Majesty, which, whatever may have been his 

* " L'Empire et la Defense de Paris," p. 428. 



244 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

protestations of devotion and his promises to protect her 
person, could scarcely have reassured the Empress with 
respect to his purpose to use the influence and means at 
his disposition to uphold and maintain the Government; 
for when she reentered the Council-room, and when M. 
Chevreau, anxious to know how matters stood, approached 
her with the words, " Eh Hen, madamef " her Majesty- 
made no reply except by an appealing look and gesture, 
which indicated that there was little hope.* 

The Council of Ministers then examined the situation 
on all sides, and deliberated upon the means which might 
possibly prevent the danger that seemed to be rapidly 
approaching. For, the night before, Jules Favre had al- 
ready proposed to the Deputies that Napoleon III. be 
deposed, and his dynasty overthrown ; while, judging by 
the reports which arrived from the Prefecture of Police, 
it could not be doubted that an insurrection might take 
place that very day. 

Some of the persons present gave expression to the 
opinion that it would perhaps be wise to transfer the seat 
of the Government from Paris to one of the cities in the 
provinces. But it was remarked that were this done the 
capital would be at the mercy of the mob ; that the Parisians 
would undoubtedly set up a new Government, and that, 
through interior disorder and dissension which must neces- 
sarily follow, the city would be delivered into the hands 
of the enemy. In consequence of considerations of this 
nature, the idea of changing the seat of Government was 
rejected by most of the members of the Cabinet Council, 
and also by her Majesty herself, who concluded her remarks 
on the subject with the words: " II faut tomher sans en- 
comhrer la resistance.^ ^ j- (Let me fall without being an 
encumbrance to the defense). 

It was finally agreed that a proclamation should be pub- 

* " Enquete Parlementaire," tome i, p. 267. 
t Ibid., op. cit., tome i, p. 156. 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 245 

lished informing the people of the military situation and 
appealing to their patriotism, and that the Government 
should be strengthened by the participation of the two 
Chambers. But opinions differed as to the manner in which 
this cooperation ought to be obtained. 

One of the Deputies, M. Buffet, had advised the Min- 
isters to persuade the Regent to place all her powers in 
the hands of the Legislative Assembly, in order to put this 
body in a position to elect a new Executive power ; but this 
advice was rejected because it was alleged that, in case 
the Regency should declare itself void of power, the Legis- 
lative Assembly would also, at the same time, lose its 
legal authority. 

The Ministers finally proposed to present to the Assem- 
bly a law by which a Council, consisting of five members 
elected by the Deputies, should receive the power to assist 
the Regent, and by which Count de Palikao should be ap- 
pointed Lieutenant General, and President of this Council. 

This proposition w^as submitted to the Deputies at the 
sitting which was opened a few hours later — at 1 p.m. — 
but did not meet with the approval of the majority; it 
was rejected, with many others, and the project of M. 
Buffet was declared to be the only acceptable one. This 
gentleman, therefore, accompanied by MM. Daru, Kolb- 
Bernard, Genton, d 'Ayguesvives, Baron de Pierres, and 
M. Dupuy-de-L6me, was sent to the Tuileries, in order 
to request her Majesty to renounce her power and to hand 
it over to the Legislative body. 

The Empress received the Deputation graciously, yet 
with great dignity, and without apparent agitation. The 
interview took place in the Salon Bleu, adjoining her Ma- 
jesty's private cabinet. M. Buffet spoke first, explaining 
the project in the name of his colleagues. This he did at 
considerable length, setting forth its purpose with clearness 
and force, and exhibiting deep feeling. He was followed by 
M. Daru, who spoke strongly in favor of the measure. 



246 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

The Empress listened calmly to the speeches of the 
Deputies, and then, as if under the influence of a sort of 
inspiration, she replied : 

" Gentlemen, you say the future can be insured on 
condition that I now, and at an hour of the greatest peril, 
abandon the post that has been confided to me. I must not, 
I cannot, consent to that. The future occupies me to-day the 
least of fA\ things — I mean, not, of course, the future of 
France, but the future of our dynasty. Believe me, gen- 
tlemen, the trials through which I have passed have been 
so painful, so horrible, that, at the present moment, the 
thought of preserving the crown to the Emperor, and to 
my son, gives me very little anxiety. My only care, my 
only ambition, is to fulfil to the utmost the duties which 
have been imposed upon me. If you believe, if the Legisla- 
tive Body believes, that I am an encumbrance, that the name 
of the Emperor is an obstacle, and not a source of strength 
in the attempt to master the situation and organize the 
defense, then you ought to pronounce the dethronement; 
and if you do, I will not complain, for then I shall be able 
to leave my place with honor. I should not, in that case, 
have deserted it. My honor, my duty, and, above all, the 
interests of the country in the presence of a triumphant 
enemy, require that the integrity of the Government should 
be maintained. I shall remain till the very last moment 
where I have been placed, faithful to my office. Were I 
to do otherwise, like a soldier who deserts his post in 
the hour of peril, I should betray the trust the Emperor 
has confided to me. I am persuaded that the only sensible 
and patriotic course the Representatives of the country 
can take, will be to gather around me and around my Gov- 
ernment, to leave aside, for the moment, all questions of 
party, and to unite their efforts strictly with mine in order 
to meet the invasion." 

After these words, the Empress recalled to the Deputies 
the noble behavior of the Cortes of Spain in Cadiz, who 




THK EMPRESS EUGENIE. 
From a photograph taken by W. and D. Downey in 1871. 



k 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 247 

remained true to their captive King, and who were re- 
warded for their unchangeable devotion and their ener- 
getic perseverance by the final triumph of their cause. 

' ' As for myself, ' ' she continued, ' ' I am ready to meet 
all dangers, and to follow the Legislative Body to any place 
where it may decide to organize the defense; and even 
should a defense be found impossible, I believe I might 
still be useful in obtaining the most favorable terms of 
peace. 

*' Yesterday the Representative of a great Power pro- 
posed to me to secure the mediation of the neutral countries 
upon these two grounds: ' Integrity of the French terri- 
tory, and the maintenance of the Imperial dynasty.' I 
answered that I was disposed to accept a mediation upon 
the first basis, but I energetically refused it upon the 
second. The preservation of the dynasty is a subject which 
regards France alone, and I will never permit foreign 
Powers to interfere with our interior affairs. ' ' 

Although these words of her Majesty made a great im- 
pression upon the persons present, M, Daru insisted that 
the Empress should leave her post, and he undertook to 
prove that, if her Majesty did not willingly resign her 
place, sooner or later she would be forced to do so; while 
by her spontaneous resignation, he argued, strength would 
be given to the Legislative Body as well as to the new 
Government, and thus the country might be saved. 

The objection of the Empress to the plan proposed was 
that she could not accept it without seeming to desert her 
post at the moment of danger. " In case it is considered 
that the retention of the Executive power in my hands is 
an obstacle to the union of the French people, and preju- 
dicial to the defense, do you think, gentlemen, that it would 
be a great pretension, on the part of a woman who should 
voluntarily give up a throne, to ask of the Chamber permis- 
sion to remain in Paris — in any place that might be as- 
signed to her, provided she might be permitted to share the 



248 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

dangers, the anxieties, and the suffering of the besieged 
capital ? 

" Do you believe then," she continued, " that it is 
agreeable to me to hold on to the powers of the Govern- 
ment ? ' ' and, hesitating for a moment, she added, in a voice 
expressing deep feeling, " Yes, you have seen me the 
crowned sovereign of your holidays. Nothing hereafter can 
soften the bitter memory of this hour. All the mourning of 
France I shall carry forever in my soul. ' ' 

Pressed on all sides, yielding rather than persuaded, her 
Majesty finally declared that if the Council of the Regency 
and her Minister of War approved of the act, she would 
resign. 

" You desire it, gentlemen," she said; "it is not 
the way I have regarded it ; but I leave aside all personal 
considerations ; only I wish to act in a regular manner. 
I wish that my Cabinet should be consulted. If my Min- 
isters agree with you with respect to the course you propose 
that I should take, I shall make no opposition. 

" Speak to M. de Palikao, gentlemen. If he agrees to 
my resignation, and if he thinks it necessary, I will 
tender it." 

" Then you do permit us," said M. Buffet, " to an- 
nounce this decision to the Assembly, and to M. de 
Palikao? " 

" Yes," answered the Empress, " you may go and 
do so." 

The Delegates now rose to retire, each one of them 
bowing loAv before her, who w^as still their sovereign, and 
who took leave of them, extending her hand to each, which 
they kissed with emotion. " My eyes were filled with 
tears," said M. Buffet, " as I came away after having 
witnessed such magnanimity and disinterestedness. ' ' * 

The perfect calmness and self-possession maintained 

* " Enquete Parlementaire," tome ii, p. 143 ff. 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 249 

by the Empress from the beginning to the end of this in- 
terview greatly impressed all the members of the Deputa- 
tion ; and especially when, in the midst of the interview, 
a young man came into the salon without having been 
previously announced, and cried in a loud voice, " They 
are there in the Place de la Concorde! " The members 
of the Deputation were startled by this sudden, sharp cry 
of alarm ; but her Majesty remained unmoved. 

When the Deputation reentered the Palais-Bourbon, the 
sitting had just been suspended, and the committees had 
retired to their bureaus in order to deliberate upon three 
different propositions : one made by General de Palikao, 
another by M. Thiers, and the third by M. Jules Favre. 
It was therefore too late for the President to submit a 
new proposal to the Chamber, and the Delegates, in conse- 
quence, had to report separately, in their respective com- 
mittee-rooms, the result of their conference with the 
Empress. 

When the decision of the Empress became known to the 
members sitting in committee, the last cause for hesitation 
was removed, and the proposition of M. Thiers was, with 
a small amendment, adopted by the majority. This propo- 
sition, after its modification, read as follows: 

" In view of the circumstances, the Chamber will pro- 
ceed to choose a Government Commission for the National 
Defense. It shall consist of five members, to be elected 
by the Legislative Body. This Commission will appoint 
the Ministry. As soon as the circumstances shall permit, 
the nation will be called upon to elect a Constituent Assem- 
bly, the duty of which shall be to decide upon the form 
of Government." 

A little after two o'clock the Deputies reentered the 
Audience Chamber, but, to their astonishment, they found 
it occupied by the mob. The galleries of the Chamber had, 
ever since noon, been crowded with agitators from the 
faubourgs; and when, at 1.30 p.m., the Deputies retired 



^50 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

for deliberation, these individuals went out upon the peri- 
style of the building, in order to put themselves in com- 
munication with the throng that filled the streets around 
the Legislative Palace, and had gathered on the Bridge 
and on the Place de la Concorde. 

About twenty minutes later, a band of rioters, led by 
" Pipe-en-Bois, " a burlesque celebrity of the time, forced 
its way into the building; and, in spite of the firmness 
of M. Schneider, the President, who kept his seat and tried 
to maintain order, the Audience Chamber was soon filled 
with insurgents, some armed and in uniform, and some 
in blouses, a motley mob of men and boys, screaming " Vive 
la Republique! " " DecJieance! " and rending the air with 
their clamor. They even pushed in among the benches 
of the Deputies, so that when the latter returned they 
found most of their seats occupied. 

The tumult increased from moment to moment. Not- 
withstanding the efforts of M. Schneider, and the appeals 
of Gambetta and other leaders of the Opposition, the 
order necessary for the transaction of business could not 
be restored; the voices of the speakers were drowned by the 
hooting of the mob, and the president, putting on his hat, 
w^as compelled to suspend the sitting. 

The reader naturally will be astonished to learn that 
no military force was used to protect the Legislative Body ; 
that no guard had been kept there as a precautionary 
measure, and that when, the mob having assembled, the 
Governor of Paris was sent for, he did not appear. In 
fact, General Trochu did not make the least effort to inter- 
fere with the invasion of the Palais-Bourbon ; nor with that 
of the Tuileries, which, as will be seen, was the object of 
a formidable demonstration shortly afterward. 

It is not necessary that I should give my opinion with 
respect to the conduct of General Trochu on this occasion. 
Napoleon III. described it as " flagrant treason." 

In a pamphlet published shortly before his death, en- 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 251 

titled " Les Principes par un Ancien Diplomate," the 
Emperor speaks of General Trochii as follows : 

" There we have a military man who has sworn allegi- 
ance to the Emperor, and who receives from him at a 
moment of supreme importance the greatest mark of confi- 
dence. He is appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the 
forces assembled in the capital. His duty is to watch over 
the life of the Empress. And this man, who on the morn- 
ing of the 4th of September declares to the Regent that 
any one attempting to approach her will have to pass first 
over his body, permits the Palais-Bourbon and the Tuileries 
to be invaded ; and, but a few hours after his solemn protes- 
tation, usurps the power, and declares himself President 
of the Government of the National Defense. 

' ' Never has there been a treason committed more black, 
more flagrant, more unpardonable; for it was committed 
against a woman, and at the time of a foreign invasion. 
And this man, who must be called a traitor — for this name 
he deserves — seems nevertheless to enjoy general esteem. 
He is elected in several departments to the National Assem- 
bly by ignorant voters, and people do not blush to shake his 
hand; they even make him President of the Commission 
that has to decide upon points of honor. 

" Does not this fact plainly demonstrate that we have 
lost our moral sense? What a contrast between this and 
an event which happened in the sixteenth century ! 

" When the Constable of Bourbon, who had conspired 
against Francis I., went to Spain, Charles V. obliged one 
of the gentlemen of his Court, the Marquis of Villena, to 
lodge the Constable. The Marquis obeyed. But when his 
guest had departed, he burned down his house, declaring 
that he had no wish to preserve a house which had given 
shelter to a traitor." 

These are the words of the Emperor. And in order that 
the reader may decide whether they contain a just judg- 
ment, I will give an account of the proceedings of General 



252 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Trochu on the 4tli of September, basing my narrative upon 
official documents. 

In the Cabinet Council that was held on the morning 
of the 4th, and which I have mentioned above, General 
Trochu had been warned by the Empress that an insurrec- 
tional movement would in all probability take place. At 
half past one o'clock he was informed by M. Vallette, the 
Secretary-General to the President of the Legislative As- 
sembly, that M. Schneider feared there might be an out- 
break. Toward two o'clock, General Lebreton, Questor 
of the Assembly, feeling very great anxiety on account of 
the attitude of the Oardes Nationaux and the indications of 
unusual popular excitement, went personally to the Gov- 
ernor of Paris in order to inform him of the gravity of the 
situation. When he arrived at the Louvre he was at first 
told that the Governor could not receive him, as he was 
very busy. M. Lebreton, however, insisted, and was finally 
admitted into his presence. He stated to General Trochu 
that the mob were surrounding the Palais-Bourbon, and 
that some of the leaders had already entered the building. 
He implored him to go at once to this place of danger, as 
his presence was necessary, and for the reason that he 
alone, by his immense popularity, would be able to keep 
order and protect the national Representatives. General 
Trochu answered that it would be impossible for him 
to do so, alleging that for several days his popularity 
had been decreasing, and that General de Palikao, the 
Minister of War, had succeeded in annihilating him com- 
pletely. 

' ' At present it is too late, ' ' he said ; " I cannot do 
anything." To which M. Lebreton replied, " No, it is not 
too late ; but there is not a moment to be lost ' ' ; for he was 
perfectly persuaded that the presence of the Governor 
would be sufficient to prevent all trouble.* 

* " Enqu^te Parlementaire," tome ii, p. 149. 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 253 

At last General Troclm agreed to go; and when the 
Questor saw him off, he had no doubt that he would go 
to the Palais-Bourbon to deliver the Assembly from the 
threatening danger. 

In fact, General Trochu, accompanied by two officers, 
started on the way towards the building where the Repre- 
sentatives were sitting. He passed through the Court of 
the Tuileries, went to the Place du Carrousel, from there 
to the Quay, which he followed until he arrived at the Pont 
de Solf erino, and then stopped and waited ; because, as 
he said, ' ' the crowd was too dense at this point for anybody 
to pass." M. Lebreton, who had left the Louvre at the 
same time, passed through this crowd without difficulty, 
and reentered the Palais-Bourbon. M. Jules Favre and 
several other Deputies were, at about the same time, also 
able to push through the crowd, and succeeded in making 
their way from the Palais-Bourbon to the Louvre. 

Soon after the mob had broken into the Audience 
Chamber of the Legislative Assembly, Jules Favre, Jules 
Ferry, Keratry, and several other members bitterly hos- 
tile to the Imperial Government, decided to go to the 
Hotel de Ville, there to proclaim the Republic and seize 
on the supreme power; and M. de Keratry remarked to 
M. Jules Favre " that he was certain he would meet on 
the way to the Hotel de Ville, General Trochu, whose as- 
sistance would be necessary. ' ' * How M. de Keratry was 
sure that he would meet the General, we do not know, but 
the fact is that he and his associates did find the General 
waiting. " We met him," says M. de Keratry, " on the 
Quay of the Tuileries, in front of the Conseil d'Etat, on 
horseback, surrounded by his staff. It was evident that 
he was waiting there for the development of events." 

M. Jules Favre, accosting him, said: " General, there 
is no longer a Legislative body. We are going to the 

* Deposition de M. Keratry, " Enquete Parlementaire," tome i, p. 650. 
18 



^54 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Hotel de Ville. Be so good as to go back to the Louvre. 
We will communicate with you there." 

Upon this the Governor quietly returned to the Louvre. 
On his way he, of course, had to pass the Tuileries, where 
the sovereign was to whom he had sworn in the morning 
that no one should approach her except over his dead body. 
Half an hour later the Tuileries were threatened by the 
rioters ; and no one being there to defend the Empress, her 
Majesty, as will be stated in a subsequent chapter, was 
obliged to leave her palace as best she could. 

About four o'clock in the afternoon MM. Steenackers 
and Glais-Bizoin came to the head-quarters of the Military 
Governor to beg General Trochu to go to the Hotel de Ville. 
The Governor took off his uniform, put on citizen's dress — 
as if he could lay aside his allegiance with his coat, as if 
duty were merely a question of clothes — and went. 

When General Trochu arrived at the Hotel de Ville, 
M. Jules Favre and his associates had already usurped the 
sovereign power and declared themselves to be the Gov- 
ernment. On being informed of this, the General put the 
following question to the usurpers : ' ' Will you protect 
these three principles: God, the Family, and Property? " 
This question was answered affirmatively by M. Jules 
Favre and his colleagues. 

" Upon this condition," General Trochu then added, 
" I am yours, provided you make me President of your 
Government. It is indispensable that I should occupy 
this post." 

The new Government, knowing well that General Tro- 
chu would be necessary for the triumph of their cause, 
acceded to his wish without hesitation. And so General 
Trochu, who in the morning had been the Imperial Gov- 
ernor of the city of Paris, was in the evening President 
of the Insurrectional Government. 

These are the simple facts regarding General Trochu 's 
conduct on the 4th of September, 1870; and from these 



i 

FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 255 

facts alone the reader can decide for himself whether or 
not the judgment which Napoleon III. pronoimced against 
the Governor of Paris is just.* 

The condition of things that obtained in the Legislative 
Chamber after the close of the sitting and the de- 
parture of the Deputies and the members of the Cabinet, 
baffles description. National guards, workmen, vagabonds, 
thieves, and half-grown boys — the mob — in a compact 
mass crowded into every part of the Palais-Bourbon, shout- 
ing and howling and gesticulating in a wild tunuilt of 
disorder. Two young ruffians made a rush for the Presi- 
dential chair, and seated themselves in it at the same 
moment, one of them seizing the President's bell, M'hich 
he rang with violence and for a long time. Others, stand- 
ing on the desks of the Deputies, were haranguing the 
' ' citizens, ' ' and urging them not to leave the building until 
the Republic had been reestahlislied as well as " pro- 
claimed." The uproar increasing, an effort was made to 
clear the floor of the Chamber, but with small result ; and 
the galleries remained full of people, centers of commotion 
and of noise; a hundred persons were speaking, but only 
occasionally could a word be heard — a word of rage 
or of insult — " a has " — " conspuez Bonaparte — et sa 
femme." Soon cigars, pipes, and cigarettes were lighted, 
and a dense cloud of tobacco-smoke obscured the atmos- 
phere. This pandemonium was kept up until it was too 
dark to see, when, the rioters having slipped away one by 
one, silence reigned instead in every room of the vast, som- 
ber, and deserted Legislative Palace, until, a few weeks 
later, it was filled with the wounded and the dying brought 
in from the battle-fields around Paris. 

It was about four o'clock when the Prince de la Tour 
d'Auvergne returned to the Foreign Office from the Palais- 
Bourbon, which he had vainly endeavored to protect, and 

* See Appendix, VII. 



256 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

meeting there M. Clement Duvernois, said to him : ' ' What 
has taken place is terrible for the dynasty, but it is still 
more terrible for the country; because this morning we 
had the support of conservative Europe to enable us to 
conclude an honorable peace, and this afternoon we have 
lost it."* 

We have seen how the Palais-Bourbon was invaded on 
the 4th of September. Let us now see what took place 
on this memorable day at the Luxembourg. 

Here, at half past twelve o'clock, the session of the 
Senate is opened under the Presidency of M. Rouher. 

A Senator, M. Chabrier, immediately mounts the Tri- 
bune, and says that he desires to send his " last good 
wishes and last homage to the Emperor." He ends his 
speech with a phrase which has often been heard in 
France, " Vive VEmpereur! " 

The Prince Poniatowski: " Vive VEmpereur! " 
M. de Segur d'Aguesseau: " Vive I'Imperatrice! " 
M. de Flamarens, believing that the Deputies have 
already proclaimed the fall of the Empire, protests against 
this act, and declares it to be unconstitutional, and con- 
cludes with the exclamation, " Vive le Prince Imperial! 
Vive la Dynastie! " 

M. de Chabrier: " That is understood! " 
Numerous voices: " Vive VEmpereur! " 
M. Nisard : ' ' Vanquished and a prisoner, he is 
sacred! " (Marks of approbation.) 

After this the whole Senate cries together: " Vive VEm- 
pereur! Vive I'Imperatrice! Vive le Prince Imperial! 
Vive la Dynastie! " 

M. Rouher, in a voice trembling with emotion, makes 
a patriotic speech, which he closes with these words: " In 
presence of the gravity of these events, we shall know 

* " Enquete Parlementaire," tome i, p. 225. 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 257 

how to show the firmness of our purpose and a resolute 
and indomitable courage." (Applause.) 

M. Quentin-Bauehart : ' ' And a sense of our honor ! ' ' 

M. Rouher: " I propose to the Senate to declare its 
sittings permanent!" ("Yes! yes!") "The sitting 
will be suspended, but will be opened again as soon as I 
have news from the Legislative Assembly. I ask the mem- 
bers of the Senate not to leave the building." 

After this the Senators gather about the desk of 
the President, who is surrounded on all sides, and every 
one congratulates him on having so well expressed the 
heroic sentiments by which the Senate is animated. On the 
conclusion of this demonstration the members retire, full 
of patriotic feeling and with resolution in their faces. 

When the news of the invasion of the Chamber of Depu- 
ties arrives, ]\L Rouher instructs the ushers to call the Sena- 
tors together again ; and it is as late as half past two o 'clock 
when these ushers are seen, still rushing through the corri- 
dors, crying, " En seance, messieurs! en seance! " 

And now the President announces in a faltering voice 
that the mob has entered the Palais-Bourbon. Then he 
adds, ' ' Does the Senate wish to remain in session, although 
it is probable that no bill will be presented to us, for the 
Legislative Assembly cannot deliver if? " 

A good many of the Senators think that it would be 
just as well to retire; but MM. de Mentque and Segur 
d'Aguesseau declare that the Senate must remain in perma- 
nent session. M. Laradit agrees with them, and adds that 
it is necessary " to protest against the violence which pre- 
vents the Representatives of the people from deliberating 
calmly and freely "; and M. Emile de Girardin calls out 
that he is here in virtue of the Plebiscitum, a representative 
of 7,500,000 votes, and that he will not go out except by 
force. The sitting is again suspended. 

After a pause of half an hour the sitting is resumed, and 
M. Rouher announces that he has just been informed that 



258 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

the mob has already taken entire possession of the Palais- 
Bourbon, and that deliberations there are for the moment 
impossible ; and he adds : " I do not know what action the 
Senate will take, but, whatever it may be, it is my duty to 
protest against the invasion by force that has paralyzed the 
exercise of one of our great public powers." (" Hear! 
Hear! ") " Now I am at the orders of the Senate to know 
whether you will remain in session, or whether you wish to 
adjourn, to meet again as soon as it is necessary. It is your 
right to make the decision, and I call for it. ' ' 

Whatever the Senate may have wished, M. de Mentque 
persists in demanding that the Senators remain in their 
places. This time his proposition is received not with 
general approbation, but by what is called in French ' ' des 
mouvements divers.''^ 

M. Rouher then says: " Were the mob at our doors, it 
would be our imperative duty to face it; but we are not 
menaced, nor can we deliberate. It is simply a question 
of dignity, which I shall not discuss; but I am ready to 
execute the will of the Senate. ' ' 

M. Baroche agrees with M. Rouher; and while pro- 
testing against the assault on the independence of the 
Chamber of Deputies, and regretting that he cannot even 
die in the Senate Chamber, as he would like to do, says: 
" And now, what can we do? We can do nothing here. 
Perhaps we can render service to the country and to the 
dynastj' outside, for I wish to speak loudly for the dynasty. 
(Applause.) Besides, by separating, we yield to force and 
not to fear, and our purpose is to defend, by our personal 
influence, order, and the Imperial dynasty to the very last 
moment. ' ' 

M. de Mentque still tries to keep his colleagues together, 
and proposes to wait at least until 5 p.m. The proposition, 
put to a vote, is rejected. A night session is then proposed. 
With reference to this proposal, ]M. Rouher remarks that 
he will do what he can to call the Senate together, but 



FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE 259 

that the convocation of the Senate in the night might not 
be accomplished without difficulty. 

Several other propositions are made, and, while a con- 
fused debate is going on between the Senators Gressier, 
Dupin, and Haussmann, M. Rouher takes the occasion to 
leave the Senate Chamber. In his absence the Vice-Presi- 
dent, M. Boudet, ascends the Tribune and closes the session 
with the words, " I request the Senate to come together 
to-morrow at the usual hour — two o'clock — unless the 
President should call us together sooner." A resolution 
to that effect is at once adopted, and the Senators adjourn 
at 3.30 P.M. 

During the whole time this sitting lasted no mob had 
come to invade the Luxembourg. The Senators seemed 
to have been entirely forgotten by the people. The cause 
was the limited and entirely local character of the insurrec- 
tion, as will be soon shown. 

Late in the evening an anonymous communication was 
sent to the new Government, stating that there would be 
a night session of the Senate, in the Luxembourg Palace. 
Upon receiving this, M. Eugene Pelletan, the only member 
of the new Government at that time present in the Hotel 
de Ville, ordered M. Floquet, a representative of the Mu- 
nicipal administration, to seal up the doors of the Senate 
Chamber. In conformity with this order, M. Floquet, ac- 
companied by two friends, went to the Palace of the Lux- 
embourg, where he arrived toward ten o'clock. He was 
announced, and the Grand Referendary, M. Ferdinand 
Barrot, and General de Montfort, the Governor of the Pal- 
ace, descended into the court to meet him. M. Floquet 
handed to the Grand Referendary, who was surrounded 
by two squadrons of gendarmes, the order of the insurrec- 
tionary Government. On receiving it, this gentleman 
replied, " I yield to force." 

After having submitted to force, IM. Barrot asked if 
he might remain in the palace, and if the Senators would 



260 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

be permitted to enter their committee-rooms to remove the 
articles belonging to them. M. Floquet answered in the 
affirmative, and while the Grand Referendary was retiring, 
began quietly to seal up the doors, and thus put an end 
to the existence of the Senate of the Second Empire.* 

* " Journal du Siege de Paris," par Georges d'Heylli, tome i, p. 21 
et seq. (Compte-rendu st^nographique de la derniere seance du Senat.) 
" Histoire du Second Empire," par Taxile Delord, tome vi, p. 516 el seq. 



CHAPTER IX 

DEPARTURE OP THE EMPRESS FROM THE TUILERIES 

The invasion of the Tuileries — General MeUinet parleys with the in- 
vaders — How the palace was protected — The interior of the 
Tuileries — ^The Empress waits in the palace to hear from the 
Assembly — She is advised to leave — She hesitates — Prince de Met- 
temich and Signer Nigra — M. Pietri — The Empress bids adieu to 
her friends — She leaves the Tuileries — She is forced to return — 
Quite by chance — "The Wreck of the Medusa " — " Are you afraid? " 
"Not a bit" — A curious coincidence — "II faut de I'audace" — 
"Voila I'Imperatrice" — No one at home — The Empress comes to 
my house. 

ra^;?S!'/i?f^HE events which took place on the 4th of Sep- 
tember within the walls of the Palais-Bourbon 
and at the Luxembourg, if less exciting or less 
interesting to the reader than those witnessed 
in the streets of Paris and at the Tuileries, form, never- 
theless, an integral and essential part of the drama that 
brought the Second Empire to its end. All these acts and 
scenes are closely connected, and none can be clearly under- 
stood except when looked at in its relation to the rest. 

Not long after the representatives of the people — find- 
ing there was no means of continuing the session in the 
Chamber — had left the Palais-Bourbon, a section of the 
mob that had gathered upon the Place de la Concorde 
approached the great gates at the entrance of the Garden 
of the Tuileries, which were held by a detachment of 
Zouaves of the Guard. Some were workmen in their 
Sunday clothes; others wore the uniform of the National 
Guard. At first, seditious cries only were heard — "JL has 

261 




262 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

VEmpire! " " Vive la Repiiblique! " — but gradually the 
band came nearer and nearer, and pressed closer and closer, 
until at length the gates were reached; and then the ring- 
leaders began to knock violently on the iron railing, and to 
demand loudly admittance to the enclosure. Very soon the 
eagles that ornamented the railing were broken down, the 
assailants meeting with no resistance. Encouraged by this, 
these men began to push against the gates, which were 
quickly forced open, when in rushed the whole band, fol- 
lowed by a body of Mobiles who had been stationed on the 
Place de la Concorde since noon. 

As soon as the basin of the great fountain was passed, 
the invaders, who were now shouting " Aux Tuilerics! 
Aux Tuileries! " at the top of their voices, saw the Volti- 
geurs of the Guard massed in the reserved garden — and they 
halted. To proceed farther would be dangerous. In view 
of the situation, which was critical in the extreme and 
might lead to a disaster at any moment, M. Louis Revenez, 
of the Mobiles, was delegated to go and parley with the 
officer in command. He left his comrades and advanced 
alone, with a white handkerchief fastened to the end of 
his musket ; but he was joined on the way by M. Victorien 
Sardou, M. Armand Gouzien, and by one or two other per- 
sons. Having reached the reserved garden, they were 
stopped by a sentinel, who asked what they wanted. The 
answer was, " To speak to the Governor of the Tuileries." 
A short parley followed, after which, two or three of these 
gentlemen having sent him their cards, requesting an inter- 
view. General Mellinet, the Governor, came forward and 
entered into conversation with them. 

They told him that the Republic had been proclaimed, 
and that the people were clamoring to be admitted to the 
Palace of the Tuileries; that the National Guards also de- 
sired to be admitted, on the ground that this palace was 
the property of the nation ; and that they themselves had 
come to request that its safe-keeping be entrusted to the 



i 



DEPARTURE OF THE EMPRESS 263 

National Guards, who, they assured the General, would 
take care that the property of the nation should be 
respected. 

" Withdraw the Imperial Guard, let the National 
Guards enter the reserved garden," they said, " and you 
can let the people in, and there will be no disorder, nor 
will anything be destroyed; for the palace will be under 
the protection of those whom the people respect." 

" You are right," said the General, " and especially 
since the Empress has already left the Tuileries. I am 
quite willing to withdraw the Imperial troops, on condition 
that their places are immediately taken by the National 
Guards. ' ' 

Orders were then given to retire the troops ; and as they 
fell back, the movement being observed, the invaders began 
to advance towards the gate near which General Mellinet 
was standing, thinking that they could now push their 
way through. As the .leaders very soon assumed a threat- 
ening attitude, General Mellinet — who had been joined by 
M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, at the suggestion of M. de Lesseps 
or of M. Sardou that the invaders should be held back, if 
possible, a little while longer — stepped up on a chair and 
harangued the tumultuous throng that had gathered in 
front of him, with great spirit and most happy effect. 

The old General was very popular in Paris. He was 
one of the heroes of the Crimea, and his face, slashed by 
a deep saber cut, was well known to all the people, and 
they cheered him when they saw him. To their cries of 
" A has I'Empire " he replied by pointing to the flag- 
staff. 

" You see," he said, " there is no flag there. The 
Empress has gone." 

And the crowd replied with a long "Ah! ah! ah! " 
and " Vive la Repuhlique! " 

* ' You are Frenchmen, ' ' continued the General, * ' and 
you would not dishonor yourselves by endeavoring to insult 



264 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

a woman. But the palace and these grounds are the prop- 
erty of the nation, and it is your duty, and it is my duty, 
to protect them. The Imperial troops will be withdrawn. 
But commit no disorder. If you make an attempt to do 
so, I shall do my duty. Go back! " 

While the General was holding the crowd in check, 
National Guards were introduced into the court of the 
Tuileries from the post near-by in the Rue de TEcheUe, 
and were massed in ranks in front of the palace, and 
aligned up in the vestibule and carriage-way leading 
through the palace to the Place du Carrousel. So that 
when, finally, the light railing enclosing the reserved gar- 
den yielded to the pressure of the increasing multitude, 
and the rabble rushed in on to the walks and over the 
flower-beds, they were soon brought to a halt, and then 
were gradually forced back, or permitted to go through 
the carriage-way and across the inner court of the palace, 
between a double file of guards to the Place beyond. And 
so into the vestibule and through this passage the crowd 
continued to move for nearly an hour ; greatly disconcerted, 
however, to find a guard at the foot of each staircase and 
at every door of the palace, and at being unable to visit 
the interior of the building, and drink the wine from the 
cellars, and masquerade in the garments of princes, and 
sleep in the beds of their sovereign, as their progenitors 
had done in 1848. 

It was fortunate, indeed, that the companies of the 
National Guard stationed in the neighborhood of the 
Tuileries on this day were composed largely of men devoted 
to the cause of order. They were prompt to obey when 
authority had lost its sanction, and were faithful to their 
self -assumed trusts. The palace was well protected; not 
a scratch did it receive, nor was there an article taken 
from it. 

As the crowd scattered towards the Hotel de Ville, and 
the howls of the would-be plunderers of the palace died 



DEPARTURE OF THE EMPRESS 265 

away in the distance, quiet reigned again at the Tuileries. 
Its courts were deserted, the sentries were at their posts 
as usual, and no one about the palace seemed to know 
what had happened, or how all these things had come 
to pass. 

A few hours later, when the interior of the Tuileries 
was visited by the representatives of the new Government, 
the public galleries and great salons were found to present 
their usual appearance. Many of the old guardians, having 
laid aside the Imperial livery, were still at their posts. 
It was only on entering the apartments which had been 
occupied by the Imperial family, that any appearance of 
disorder was observed. And even here the disorder was 
more apparent than real, for the reason that, the Empress 
having returned to Paris from Saint Cloud unexpectedly 
early in August, the rooms she occupied when at the 
Tuileries had not been prepared for her. The curtains had 
been taken down and the carpets removed; most of the 
furniture was covered up, and some of it had been sent 
off for repairs. The general impression conveyed to the 
mind of the visitor was that of rooms still in use, but 
from which the occupants had been suddenly called away. 
The standing furniture, the clocks, the candelabra, the jar- 
dinieres, the rich bronzes and decorative pieces, were all 
in their places, the pictures on the walls, and the books on 
the shelves, in their cases. The commodes, and wardrobes 
also, had not been disturbed, and were filled with clothing 
and wearing-apparel of every description. But light, mov- 
able articles were scattered about in nearly every room. 
In the cabinet of the Empress, her table was found just 
as she rose from it for the last time, covered with writing- 
materials and the latest despatches; not one had been 
taken away. On a bureau near-by was a portmanteau con- 
taining a few articles of clothing, but open, as if being 
prepared for a journey. On the floor were two or three 
empty hat-boxes. In an adjoining room, a breakfast, 



266 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

scarcely touched, remained upon the table. It consisted 
of a boiled egg, a little cheese, and some bread. 

In the study of the Prince Imperial a toy was lying 
upon the floor. It consisted of a company of leaden sol- 
diers, which could be put in motion by the turning of a 
handle. An exercise-book, which had been used for writ- 
ing historical themes, lay open upon the table. One leaf 
was entirely covered with a small and correct handwriting. 
The theme began thus : 

'' Louis XV., Bourbon, Fleury, 1723-1741. Regency 
resumed. Bourbon, 1723-1725. Bourbon. Madame de 
Prie, Paris. Duvernois [Duvernay was intended]. At 
home, corruption, stock- jobbing, frivolity, intolerance. 
Abroad, marriage of the King with Marie Lesczynska. 
Rupture with Spain, which country displays Austrian 
tendencies," etc. 

The apartment occupied by the Emperor on the ground 
floor, between the Pavilion de I'Horloge and the Pavilion 
de Flore, was found exactly in the state in which he had 
left it. It was full of books, maps, models, and military 
diagrams. It contained also a large number of political 
papers and much private correspondence. This corre- 
spondence was seized, together with all the letters and 
despatches addressed to the Regent. And so were the 
books containing the accounts kept of the expenses of the 
palace housekeeping. A selection from these papers was 
subsequently published by the Government ; * greatly to 
the disappointment, however, of that portion of the public 
who had hoped to find in the correspondence of the Im- 
perial family material for scandal. For it only served to 
prove how well the Emperor loved his country; that few 
sovereigns have ever taken so deep a personal interest in 



* Under the title of " Papiers et Correspondance de la Famille Im- 
p^riale." 



DEPARTURE OF THE EMPRESS 267 

the affairs of the Government, or so carefully studied the 
questions most immediately concerning the economical 
prosperity and general welfare of their subjects, or have 
been inspired by loftier ideals or a more noble ambition; 
and that, true to himself, at the last hour he strove with 
singular self-abandonment to bear the burden of defeat, 
in order to save the army and check the tide of disaster 
that threatened to sweep over the land. 

It was much to the credit of the new Government that 
the personal effects of the Imperial family were not re- 
tained, but after a few weeks were packed up, and either 
sent to England or deposited for safe-keeping with their 
friends in Paris. 

But while these events were taking place without, the 
scene within the palace was no less moving and exciting. 
After her Majesty had dismissed the Deputation that had 
been sent to ask her to transfer her power, she waited 
to hear the result of their conference with General de 
Palikao, and what action the Assembly would take in order 
to meet the exigencies of the situation. But from moment 
to moment the despatches received from the Minister of 
the Interior, from the War Department, and from the 
Prefecture of Police, became more and more ominous. It 
was reported that the mob had invaded the Chamber of 
Deputies; that the Imperial arms were being broken in 
pieces wherever seen; that cries of " Vive la RepuMique! " 
were to be heard in the streets. Then a messenger, flushed 
with excitement, came to announce that the eagles orna- 
menting the great gates fronting on the Place de la Con- 
corde had been pulled down, and that the rioters were 
endeavoring to force their way into the Garden of the 
Tuileries. The Empress listened to all these reports un- 
moved, and without manifesting the slightest fear. But the 
persons near her began to see the meaning of these events, 
and to grow anxious for her Majesty's safety. They there- 



268 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

fore advised her to leave the palace, and not to expose 
herself to the danger of falling into the hands of the 
populace. 

To them all she replied simply: ** I do not fear. How 
can I leave? " 

Finally, three of the Ministers arrived at the Tuileries — 
M. Jerome David, M. Biisson-Billault, and M. Henri 
Chevreau. * Entering the salon, where the Empress was 
still standing, they reported to her Majesty that not only 
had the mob taken possession of the Chamber of Deputies, 
but that Deputies presumed to be loyal to the Imperial 
Government were going over to the Revolution, and that 
Paris was in the hands of the populace. It was the opinion 
of these gentlemen — and their official position gave great 
weight to their opinion — that the Empress should leave the 
palace immediately. They told her very plainly that she 
could no longer remain where she was, in safety. But she 
was undaunted by this account of the on-rush of the Revo- 
lution and the apprehensions of personal peril displayed, 
and was neither moved nor made afraid. She objected 
most decidedly to leaving, and with great spirit and feeling 
replied: " Here I have been placed by the Emperor, and 
here I will stay. To abandon my post will weaken the 



* In a letter written at Chislehurst, in November, 1870, the Empress 
writes: "As for the 4th of September, I will only say that General 
Trochu abandoned me, if nothing worse; he was not seen at the Tuile- 
ries after the invasion of the Chamber, nor were the Ministers, with the 
exception of three who insisted on my departure, and I did not wish to 
go until the Tuileries were invaded. Light will be thrown on these 
matters some day, as upon a good many things besides." 

M. Jules Brame, in his testimony before the Parliamentary Com- 
mission, tells what the Ministry were doing at this time. "I," says M. 
Brame, "was with the Minister of War to the very end; three of my 
colleagues were out-of-doors striving to stimulate the military chiefs 
and questors to make an effort to protect the Assembly; and three 
others went at once to the Tuileries to see if they could not save the 
Empress, who would have been strangled had they not warned her in 
time." 



DEPARTURE OF THE EMPRESS 269 

power to resist the invasion. Unless there is some recog- 
nized authority, the disorganization will be complete, and 
France at the mercy of M. Bismarck. ' ' 

It was now nearly three o'clock, and the mob, crying 
*' Aiix Tuileries! Aux Tuileries! " were approaching the 
reserved garden. Their cries could be heard even by 
the Empress and the persons with whom she was talking. 
It was at this moment that Prince de Metternich, the Aus- 
trian Ambassador, and Signor Nigra, the Italian Ambassa- 
dor, entered the antechamber and requested to be admitted 
into the presence of her Majesty. 

" She is in great danger," they said. " The mob that 
has taken possession of the Palais-Bourbon is now prepar- 
ing to attack the Tuileries. She must be informed of this, 
and that resistance is impossible. She cannot stay here 
any longer, except at the risk of her life, and we wish 
to offer her our protection." 

They were very soon introduced into her Majesty's 
private cabinet, where she was then debating with those 
near her the expediency of leaving the palace. The two 
diplomats had considerable difficulty in persuading the Em- 
press that the time for her to retire had come. M. de 
Metternich was excited, insistent, and abrupt even; and 
Signor Nigra no less insistent, but as calm and polished 
in his manner of address as when reciting Italian poetry 
to her Majesty at Compiegne. 

After hearing what they had to say, her Majesty ex- 
pressed a desire to consult with M. Pietri, the Prefect of 
Police, who was then at his post in the Prefecture, where 
he had been all the morning, reporting to the Tuileries every 
few minutes the situation, so far as it was indicated by 
disturbances of public order in the streets. He was ac- 
cordingly sent for. On arriving, he found the Empress 
still earnestly discussing with those about her the expedi- 
ency of her leaving the Tuileries. Turning to M. Pietri 
the moment she saw him, she asked him what he thought 
19 



270 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

of it. He replied by telling her what he himself had seen 
while coming from the Prefecture — that the mob were then 
pushing against the gates of the palace. He said that 
within ten or fifteen minutes they would probably force 
their way into the building; that it was impossible to say 
what they would do, or what crime they might not com- 
mit, should an entrance be effected. In a word, corrobo- 
rating all that had been said by the others who were then 
urging her Majesty to go, he told her that she could not 
remain without putting in peril not only her own life, but 
the lives of some of her most intimate friends, as well 
as the lives of all the persons connected with the service of 
the palace, and who were there at their posts to aid and 
protect her. 

To risk her own life was to the Empress nothing; but 
when she came to see that, by remaining, she might be 
putting in jeopardy the lives of many others, some of whom 
were very dear to her, she could no longer refuse to go. 
And yet she delayed, to bid adieu to her friends, la Vicom- 
tesse Aguado, la Marechale Canrobert, la Marechale Pelis- 
sier, Mesdames de Rayneval, de la Poeze, de la Bedoliere, 
de Saney, de Saulcy, la Baronne de Bourgoing, and others, 
who gathered about her with hearts too full of emotion 
to find words to express their love and sympathy. To one 
of these ladies, who signified a desire to go with her, the 
Empress said : 

" I fully appreciate your generous devotion to me, but 
I do not wish my misfortunes to be yours also. In France 
no one should be unhappy." 

Then followed a clasping of hands, tears, sobs, a parting 
kiss, and yet the Empress lingered to say : 

" I shall never forget what you all have been to me. 
I thank you. Good-by — Good — " And Signor Nigra in- 
terrupts this scene so full of tenderness and affection, by 
saying, 

" Madame, M. de Metternich and I are waiting for you. 



DEPARTURE OF THE EMPRESS 271 

You must hurry. In a few minutes escape may be im- 
possible "; at the same time handing her a hat and veil 
that Madame Lebreton was holding, and assisting her to 
put on a light cloak — for there was no time now to prepare 
for a journey. She must leave the palace at once, and as 
she was. 

With an effort, the Empress separated herself from her 
friends, looking back as she went, to give them, smiling 
through her tears, a last expression of her affectionate 
regard. 

She was now with the Prince de Metternich, Signor 
Nigra, Admiral Jurien de la Graviere, of her personal 
service, M. Conti, the Chief of the Emperor's Cabinet, Lieu- 
tenant Conneau, an orderly officer, and Madame Lebreton, 
the sister of General Bourbaki, her reader and companion. 
And as the little company walked out of the private cabinet 
of the Empress, about half past three o'clock in the after- 
noon of the 4th of September, 1870, the tri-colored flag, 
that floated over the Tuileries when the sovereign was resi- 
ding there, was lowered, never to be raised again. While 
passing through one of her own rooms, which had been 
furnished with elegance and a regard for home comfort 
rather than decorative effect, and which was full of sou- 
venirs of love and friendship and devotion, the Empress, 
stopping for a moment and looking about her, said, as 
if she were speaking to herself and could scarcely believe 
it possible, *' Is this the last time? " And then pressing 
forward, she herself led the way down the staircase to 
the ground floor of the palace, with the idea, it seems, that 
she could take the coupe which was generally stationed in 
the court-yard to the right, near the steps leading to the 
apartments of the Prince Imperial, and which, in fact, 
was there, with the coachman on his box, correctly dressed, 
looking neither to the right nor to the left, waiting his 
orders as usual. But the Prince de Metternich, noticing 
the livery, and the crown painted on the door of the 



272 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

carriage, thought it would be imprudent for the Empress 
to make use of it, and offered instead his own carriage, 
which was waiting on the quay near by. Lieutenant Con- 
neau thereupon started off to bring the Prince's carriage 
into the court, and the Empress, who had been standing 
for hours, sat down on a bench in the vestibule. But 
in a very short time the young officer came running back, 
saying that it was no longer possible to pass out through 
the court-yard of the palace; that the Place du Carrousel 
was occupied by a tumultuous rabble, who were filling 
the air with songs mingled with cries of " A mort! " and 
" Aux Tuileries! " and that a band in advance of the rest 
were pounding on the railing that separated the court- 
yard from the Place. Admiral Jurien de la Graviere then 
left the company and went forward to the gate — which 
the rioters were now endeavoring to force open — for the 
purpose of parleying with them, and thus gaining time. 
In this work he was highly successful, as he managed to 
keep them out of the court altogether. 

But when he returned to the vestibule the Empress and 
her escort were not to be found. Seeing that it would 
be dangerous, if not impossible, to attempt to leave the 
Tuileries by any direct way, and that there was no time 
to lose, they had reascended the staircase they had just 
come down, and, retracing their steps through the apart- 
ments of the Empress, and entering the long suite of rooms 
that led by the way of the Pavilion of Flora to the galleries 
of the Louvre, had passed on through the new Salle des 
Etats, not yet finished, and still embellished with the 
decorations iised on the 21st of May — the day when, with 
imposing ceremony, the result of the Plebiscitum was of- 
ficially announced to the Emperor. But on coming to 
the door that led into the great Gallery of the Louvre, it 
was found that it could not be opened. It was locked. 
To the knocking on the door there was no response; but, 
in the silence that followed, the cries of the people without 



DEPARTURE OF THE EMPRESS 273 

could be distinctly heard. The members of the little com- 
pany began to feel very anxious. Was all retreat cut off? 
What was to be done? Before anything had been decided 
upon, and as the bewilderment of counsel began to suggest 
the growing danger of the situation, M. Charles Thelin, the 
Emperor's treasurer, appeared. Having heard that the 
Empress had just passed through the Pavilion of Flora, 
going towards the Louvre, he followed after her to offer 
his services. Quite by chance, but most luckily, he had 
with him a key that would open all the doors of the 
building. 

And so it happened, by a strange freak of fortune, that 
the doors which were closed against the Empress Eugenie 
on the 4th of September, 1870, were unlocked by the same 
Charles Thelin who opened the doors of the prison at Ham, 
from which Louis Napoleon made his escape a little over 
twenty-four years before, on the 25th of May, 1846. 

The way being now free, the Empress and her escort 
walked down the " Long " or " Great Gallery " of the 
Museum, and through the Salle Carree into the Pavilion of 
Apollo; passing down this, and turning to the right, they 
entered the " Jewel Room," and then continued on to the 
Salle des Sept Cheminees. 

Here the Empress stopped; and having remarked that 
the number of persons accompanying her was so large 
as surely to attract attention, suggested that they all, ex- 
cept MM. de Metternich and Nigra, should now retire, and 
leave her and Madame Lebreton to be conducted to a 
place of safety under the escort of these two gentlemen 
alone. 

Thereupon the Empress took leave of the last of her 
palace followers, who had been joined by several of the 
guardians of the Museum, some of whom, with tears in their 
eyes, kissed the hand which she extended, and all of whom 
bade her good-by with emotion. She thanked them all for 
the loyalty and the devotion they had shown to her ; and so 



274 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

thoughtful was she of their safety also, that she urged 
them to be careful not to expose themselves to the fury 
of the mob, and made Lieutenant Conneau promise to take 
off his rather showy uniform before going into the street. 

And then, as her friends left her, and as she herself 
turned to go, looking up, she saw on the wall before her 
Gerieault's famous picture, " The Wreck of the Medusa." 
She stood fixed for a few seconds, unable to remove her 
eyes from it. ' ' How strange ! ' ' said she to herself. 

And to me, and to others, she has since often said, 
" How strange that this picture should be the last one 
I should ever look at in the galleries of the Louvre ! ' ' 

But the Empress having quickly recovered from the 
impression produced by this picture of ill-omen, the two 
ladies walked on, under the guidance of MM. de Metter- 
nich and Nigra, through the rooms containing the Greek 
antiquities, and through the Egyptian Gallery, until they 
reached the landing at the right of the great colonnade. 
Then, descending the three broad flights of stone steps that 
lead to the ground floor of the Egyptian Museum, the little 
company threaded its way through the colossal and somber 
antiquities of Old Egypt there assembled — the images of 
its gods, and the sarcophagi and funeral monuments of its 
dead kings and priests — until they reached the door at 
the extreme end, which opens upon the arched passage 
leading from the inner court of the Louvre to the Place 
in front of the Church of Saint-Germain I'Auxerrois. 

On coming to this door, it was found that a crowd of 
noisy " manifestors " was pouring through the passage, 
and the two diplomatists thought it would be highly im- 
prudent to attempt then to leave the building with the 
ladies. So they stood here and waited for the crush to 
spend its force. Standing in the vestibule of the Museum, 
this demonstration was watched with deep concern through 
the door held ajar; it seemed as if it would never end. 
But the Empress was the one least disturbed. 



DEPARTURE OF THE EMPRESS 275 

Signer Nigra has told me that, while standing here, 
observing the Empress seemed weary, he offered her his 
arm; and that soon after a peculiarly noisy band passed 
by, shouting "A has Badinguet! " "A has I'Espagnole! " 
" Vive la Bepuhlique! " Hearing these cries, he asked the 
Empress if she was afraid. 

'' Not a bit," she replied. " Why do you ask me? 
You are holding my arm ; do you feel me tremble 1 ' ' 

By a curious coincidence, the same reply to the same 
question was made by Louis XVI. under nearly similar 
circumstances. When, on the 20th of June, 1792, the Paris 
mob, invading the Tuileries, entered the Royal apartment 
and laid hands on the person of the King, some one cried 
out, " Are you afraid? " And the King, turning to the 
man, said, " Put your hand upon my heart and see if I 
tremble." 

Fortunately, the equal courage and firmness of the two 
sovereigns in the presence of danger did not prove alike 
disastrous to the two witnesses. The Italian ambassador 
has lived not only to repeat the story many times, but to 
serve his country with distinction to the present day; but 
during the Reign of Terror, the national guard, the poor 
tailor, Jean Lalanne, had his head chopped off " for 
having," as the judicial sentence solemnly reads, " on the 
20th of June, 1792, shown that he possessed the character 
of a tyrant's under-servant, and, especially, in that he has 
seemed to take pleasure, in the presence of a number of 
citizens, in telling how Capet took his hand and, pressing 
it to his heart, said, ' Do you feel it throb, my friend? ' " 

When, finally, the main body of the rabble appeared 
to have passed through to the Place, the Empress, who was 
tired of standing still, said, " Now let us go." 

'' I think we had better wait a little while longer," 
answered Signor Nigra. 

" No, no," replied the Empress, " il faut de Vaudace! " 



276 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

and, saying this, she pulled the door open and stepped 
out on the pavement, followed by those with her. 

Prince de Metternich at once went forward to try to 
find a carriage. Luckily, he soon found one, a common one- 
horse cab, but a closed one — provided seemingly by Provi- 
dence for this special occasion. The Prince having come 
back to report that he had found a carriage, the four per- 
sons walked from the entrance of the Louvre towards the 
street, the space between the railings still being filled with 
people coming and going, when, just as they reached the 
sidewalk, where the cab had been drawn up, a boy cried 
out, " Voild rimperatrice! " (Oh, there's the Empress!) 
Signor Nigra, hearing this, turned instantly, and asking, 
" What was it you said? " stopped the boy and talked 
with him, to silence him. In the meantime Prince de Met- 
ternich had put the Empress and Madame Lebreton into 
the cab, and Madame Lebreton, having directed the driver 

to go to No. Boulevard Haussmann, the residence of 

M. Besson, a Councilor of State, the Prince lifted his hat 
and, bowing to the ladies, withdrew. 

The personal and political relations of these two am- 
bassadors, to the Imperial Court and to each other, were 
very remarkable. Metternich, the son of the famous states- 
man and diplomatist, was a reactionary by birth and educa- 
tion, so much so that the Emperor used to say that some 
day he would become a Capuchin friar; and Nigra, the 
disciple of Azeglio and Cavour, was a lover of freedom, 
with his face to the future. The former was fond of art, 
and an excellent musician ; the latter a lover of letters, 
and a brilliant raconteur. They were rivals for the favors 
of the palace, the closest of personal friends, and, generally, 
irreconcilable adversaries on matters of European policy, 
especially with respect to the Roman question, which was 
the burning question of the time. For a few months, just 
before the fall of the Empire, they worked in harmony 
to effect an alliance between their Governments and that 



DEPARTURE OF THE EMPRESS 277 

of France, and on this day, impelled by a common motive, 
they met together at the Tuileries for the last time, to assist 
in her extremity the sovereign they each had so long and 
constantly admired. But while to Prince de Metternich 
this departure was the end of a hope that Napoleon III. 
might help his country, Austria, to retrieve the defeat of 
Sadowa, to Signor Nigra it was the beginning of an assur- 
ance — that Rome was to be the capital of Italy. 

While talking with the boy, Signor Nigra lost sight of 
his companions, and, not being able to rejoin them, or to 
find the Prince de Metternich, only learned several days 
later what became of the Empress after she disappeared 
in the moving throng of people on the Place Saint-Germain 
1 'Auxerrois. 

Indeed, she was there but a moment, for the cab turned 
quickly into the Rue de Rivoli, and, passing by the Louvre 
and the Tuileries, and on into the Rue de la Paix, and across 
the central boulevards, picked its way unnoticed through 
noisy bands of '' clubbists " and " manif estors, " to the 
quiet quarter at the back of the Madeleine, the Empress 
herself having been an astonished witness of some of the 
most singular scenes of the mad carnival with which the 
populace of Paris celebrated the advent of the Third 
Republic. 

On arriving at the given address in the Boule- 
vard Haussmann, the cab was dismissed, and the ladies 
walked up the stairs to their friend's apartments, which 
were on the third or fourth floor. But on ringing the bell 
there was no reply. Again and again the bell was rung; 
but there was no answer. It was now about four o'clock. 
Should they wait? It would probably not be long before 
some one of the family returned. Feeling fatigued, the 
Empress sat down on the staircase, and waited five, ten, 
fifteen minutes. It seemed an age. At length she said, 
" I cannot stay here any longer. Let us go." And 
then the two sadly disappointed ladies slowly descended 



278 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

the stairs, and began to think very seriously about what 
should be done. They were alone; they had no carriage; 
they could not remain where they were ; and so they walked 
on aimlessly, not knowing in what direction they were 
going, until finally they saw a cab, an open one; but 
the streets were deserted, and there was little danger of 
their being recognized. The driver was beckoned to, and 
stopped. And now the question, Where shall we go ? must 
be quickly answered. 

* ' Let us go, ' ' said Madame Lebreton, ' ' to the American 
Legation, to Mr. Washburne. The Revolutionists will re- 
spect the American flag. Mr. Washburne will protect us. ' ' 

" The American Legation — Mr. Washburne," repeated 
the Empress interrogatively — and then she thought of me. 
" No," said she, " I will go to Dr. Evans. He is an 
American also, but he has no political responsibilities, and, 
besides, is an old friend. I am sure he will not hesitate to 
render us every assistance we may require." 

And so it came to pass that the Empress and Madame 
Lebreton directed their cabman to drive them to my 
private residence, on the corner of the Avenue de 1 'Impera- 
trice and the Avenue Malakoff, where they arrived at about 
five o'clock. On ringing the bell, the gate opened; there 
was some one here, at least. It proved, however, to be 
only a servant; but he told the ladies that Dr. Evans, 
for whom they inquired, although not at home, was ex- 
pected to return before long, and that if they chose to do 
so they could come in and wait in the library until he 
came back. 



CHAPTER X 

THE REVOLUTION — THE EMPRESS AT MY HOUSE 

The calm before the storm — Paris in revolution — The Champs Elysees 
— The Place de la Concorde — The street scenes — Some reflections — 
How certain things came to pass without a hitch — The funeral of 
Victor Noir — A paradox — Concerning the "Republic" — A race, 
and the winners — A strange letter — A mystery explained — I return 
to my house — Two ladies wish to see me — My interview with the 
Empress — An awkward situation — Planning to escape from Paris 
— Questions to be considered — The plan finally agreed upon — Our 
passports — The safety of the Empress left to chance — The Em- 
press no pessimist — Paris at midnight — I make a reconnaissance. 



|HE sun rose bright on the morning of September 



'^■^ 4th. It was Sunday, and in the quarter of the 
^^is city where I live — between the Arc de Tri- 



omphe and the Bois de Boulogne — the stillness 
of the early hours of the day was broken only by the distant 
chime of bells, and the singing of birds in the private and 
public gardens. No dread alarms would appear to have 
disturbed the repose of my neighbors, and Nature, animate 
and inanimate, in the soft radiance of the morning light 
seemed full of joy and gentleness, and was invested with 
a serene beauty that possessed the soul with a delightful 
sense of security — a feeling which, when it succeeds quickl.y 
the fear of some great, impending catastrophe, as it then 
did, comes to us like a benediction from Heaven. How 
could one help yielding to the subtle influence of this im- 
pression? And thus it happened that, scarcely knowing 
why, I began to hope and to believe the ugly rumors of the 
preceding evening were unfounded, and that some turn in 
the tide of fortune might soon restore the prestige of the 

279 



280 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

armies of France, and save the country and the Govern- 
ment. But it proved to be only the calm before the tornado. 

At nine o 'clock I went over to the American Ambulance 
.which was being constructed upon grounds belonging to 
the Prince de Beaufremont, on the corner of the Avenue 
de rimperatrice and the Rue Villejust. Here I found 
Dr. Edward A. Crane, it having been agreed between us 
that we should spend the morning together preparing the 
Ambulance for active service; since the news from the 
front, on Saturday, was of such a kind as to make us think 
that trains conveying the wounded might be expected to 
arrive in Paris at almost any moment. As we met, we 
had in our hands the morning papers. From them we 
learned for the first time that the Government admitted 
the French army had been defeated at Sedan. And yet 
the Imperial Government, according to the reports pub- 
lished and the comments of the papers, had every appear- 
ance of standing firm, and of being confident of its ability 
to meet the crisis. 

At the session of the Chamber of Deputies convened at 
one o'clock on Sunday morning. General de Palikao, the 
Minister of War, after having announced the capitulation 
of Marshal MacMahon 's army, said : 

" This cruel reverse does not shake our courage. Paris 
to-day is in a condition for defense. The military forces 
of the country are being organized. In a few days a new 
army will be behind the walls of Paris; another army is 
forming on the banks of the Loire. Your patriotism, your 
union, your energy will save France. ' ' 

Jules Favre's order of the day, presented immediately 
after the Ministerial declaration, demanding that the Em- 
peror should be deposed, was supported by no one ; on the 
contrary, it was protested against with violence. After a 
sitting that lasted but half an hour, the Chamber adjourned 
to meet at 1 p. m. on the same day. 

No revolutionary manifestations were reported, nor 



THE REVOLUTION 281 

breaches of the public peace. On the surface everything 
was quiet. Knowing that the Germans were now marching 
towards Paris, it was our opinion the people would re- 
spond promptly to the appeal made by the Government, 
and that political differences and animosities would, for 
the moment, be held subordinate to considerations affecting 
the national honor, and interests in which all Frenchmen 
were equally concerned, and that a vigorous defense of 
the capital would be made. We also presumed that the 
Government had taken the precautionary measures neces- 
sary for dealing effectively with the agents of revolt and 
revolution, should they attempt to begin their work. 

These matters we talked over at length. Whatever 
doubt we may have had with respect to the expediency 
of establishing our Ambulance in Paris was now removed. 
Paris was surely to be the scene of the final acts of this 
terrible Franco-German drama. There was no time to 
be lost, and we resolved to do our best to have everything 
in readiness to receive and take care of the wounded as 
soon as there should be a call for our services. 

At noon Dr. Crane returned into the city, it being 
understood between us that we should meet again at my 
office in the Rue de la Paix at four o'clock, and, later, 
take a drive in the Bois de Boulogne. 

A little after three o'clock, having ordered my horses 
to be put to a light American carriage — wishing to drive 
myself — I started off to keep my engagement. On the 
way, in the Avenue de I'lmperatrice, and as far down the 
Champs Elysees as the Palais de I'lndustrie, I observed 
nothing to indicate the existence of any popular excite- 
ment. The fountains were playing, and well-dressed people 
were moving about in carriages or on foot, as usual. The 
children, also, under the trees on each side of the Champs 
Elysees, were enjoying the day with their nurses, playing 
on the shaded walks, riding on the merry-go-rounds and 
in the little wagons drawn by goats, or gathering together 



282 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

about the Pimch-and-Judy shows, exactly as they had 
done on every pleasant Sunday during the summer. Only 
as I approached the Place de la Concorde did I begin 
to see evidences that something extraordinary was taking 
place. I noticed groups of people scattered about, some 
near the Obelisk, others on the terrace of the Garden of 
the Tuileries, most of whom seemed to be watching the 
movements of small bands of men and boys, who were 
marching, and shouting what, as I drew nearer, proved to 
be " La decheance! " " Vive la Repuhlique! " or singing 
revolutionary songs; and then a detachment of the Garde 
Nationale came in sight singing the " Marseillaise," with 
their guns under their arms, reversed — the butts upper- 
most — a sign that they would not fire upon the people, in 
a word, had gone over to the Revolution, When I came 
to the Place de la Concorde, I noticed that the crowd 
on the other side of the Seine was dense in the neighbor- 
hood of the bridge, and that the approaches to the Palais- 
Bourbon were filled with a black, restless, swaying, seething 
mass that clung to the main entrance of the building like 
a swarm of bees at the mouth of a hive. Men and boys, 
and women even, were at the same time hurrying through 
the gilded gates that, flanked by the equestrian symbols 
of Fame, open into the Garden of the Tuileries — which 
seemed to be another center of excitement. Just what 
was going on there I only learned afterward — the " citi- 
zens " were parleying with the officer in command of the 
guard stationed at the Tuileries. 

Driving across the Place de la Concorde, I entered the 
Rue de Rivoli, where I met groups, principally of workmen 
from the faubourgs, marching in the middle of the street 
and singing the " Marseillaise," or dancing the " Car- 
magnole ' ' under the arches ; while a still larger number 
of persons from the windows above, or on the sidewalk 
opposite — peering through the railings that enclose the 
Garden of the Tuileries — were watching in silent astonish- 



THE REVOLUTION 283 

ment the riotous and fantastic scenes that were being 
enacted before their eyes. 

Strange as it may seem, the streets were not obstructed ; 
carriages were circulating freely to and fro; in fact, it 
was about this time — perhaps at this very moment — that 
the Empress was being driven in a cab through the Rue 
de Rivoli, on her way to my house. 

Turning into the Rue Castiglione, I witnessed what 
struck me, at the time, as a most extraordinary perform- 
ance — a man well dressed, and wearing a tall silk hat, 
standing on a short ladder, with a hanuner in his hand, 
striking furiously at and smashing in pieces a large shield 
on which, and under the Imperial Arms, in letters of gold, 
were the words, " Fournisseur de Sa Majeste, I'Empe- 
reur "; and as I passed on into the Place Vendome and 
the Rue de la Paix, I saw other shopkeepers endeavoring 
in desperate haste to remove or destroy the insignia of 
a patronage that, only a few days before, they were so 
anxious to obtain or proud to possess. 

Soon after I reached my office. Dr. Crane joined me, 
and reported what he had seen since leaving me at the 
Ambulance. 

He said that between twelve and half -past twelve o 'clock 
the Champs Elysees and the Place de la Concorde were ab- 
solutely deserted, but that this was not remarked by him at 
the time as something unusual ; it was noon, the lunch hour, 
and the sun was fiercely hot — a sun of Austerlitz. It was 
about one o'clock when he first noticed indications of the 
approaching revolutionary movement. Then small bands 
of ' ' manif estors ' ' began to make their appearance, coming 
from the faubourgs — Montmartre, Saint- Antoine, du Tem- 
ple — and marching towards the Palais-Bourbon, where the 
Deputies were to meet. Some were working men in their 
Sunday clothes, and others the uncombed and unwashed 
ruffians, in greasy blouses and black silk caps, who emerge 
from the slums of Paris whenever public order is threat- 



284 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

ened. As the noise of the shouting rose in the air, they 
increased in numbers; and so did the number of the 
spectators who followed behind them and crowded round 
them, curious to see what they were going to do. 

It was nearly or quite three o'clock before the Garden 
of the Tuileries was invaded. Dr. Crane, during the more 
than two hours he spent in the Rue de Rivoli or on or 
near the Place de la Concorde, witnessed no act of personal 
violence, except in the case of an unfortunate serjent de 
ville, whose sword was wrenched from him and whose 
uniform was nearly torn in pieces, but who, offering not 
the slightest resistance, and deathly pale and trembling 
with fear, was permitted to escape unhurt. It was, he 
said, a good-natured mob — a singing and a dancing mob — 
of men, women, children, and dogs, that had assembled 
apparently to celebrate some great victory, rather than 
engage in the serious business of overthrowing a Govern- 
ment. This work, they seemed to think and to feel had 
already been done at Sedan — thanks to the victorious and 
glorious Moltke. The police had mysteriously disappeared. 
" But where are the troops'? " asked the curious, quiet 
onlookers. And then came marching by, squads of Gardes 
Mobiles and of the Garde Nationale, fraternizing with 
the bands of demonstrators, and carrying flowers and 
green branches, the symbols of peace, in the muzzles of 
their guns, their women marching with them in the ranks. 
It now became evident to all the witnesses of these pro- 
ceedings that the mob was meeting with no resistance; 
that the Army was acting in concert with it; and that 
Paris was in the hands of the Revolutionists. And, 
quick as a flash, the idea seized the flock of shopkeepers 
in the fashionable quarters to range themselves instantly 
on the side of Power; to obliterate with savage violence 
the evidence of their obligations to the Empire, and thus 
manifest their gratitude to the new Government for favors 
to come. 



THE REVOLUTION 285 

Dr. Crane and I remained for some time watching from 
the balcony of my office the movements of the people in 
the street, and reflecting on the probable consequences 
of the events that we were witnessing, and which had come 
to pass with such startling suddenness as to quite dis- 
concert us. 

The inconstancy of the French character is so well 
known, that it did not astonish me in the least to hear 
the people who the day before cried " Vive I'Empereur! " 
now crying " Vive la Repuhlique! " But the irreverence, 
the apparent animosity with which all the symbols of 
the past were trampled upon and destroyed, and the lack 
of courage displayed by those who at heart detested the 
opinions of the revolutionists, surpassed what I believed 
to be possible. It was sad to see so many new proofs of 
the old truth, that the populace cries to-day, ' ' Hosanna ! ' ' 
and to-morrow, " Crucify! " And it seemed, indeed, very 
hard to believe that the illustrious family whose history 
was the story of the nation's glory, before the magic of 
whose name a large portion of the French people had 
bowed in admiration, after the first serious misfortune 
were disowned by all ; the crowd hastening to pay hom- 
age to the new gods of the day — the gods of the " Red 
Republic. ' ' 

And so from the tricolored flags the red stripes were 
cut out, and, having been torn into small pieces, were fast- 
ened by the ' ' patriots ' ' to sticks and umbrellas, and waved 
in the air as a sign of their adhesion to the " Red Repub- 
lic," or, rather, to the " Commune." For although this 
latter species of craziness did not develop until some months 
later, the sparlfs were smoldering under the ashes, and it 
needed only a favorable wind to fan them into flames. 

Yet there seemed to be something extremely superficial, 
and puerile even, in these demonstrations; and their facti- 
tious character was so apparent that it was difficult for us 
to understand how a revolutionary movement could be suc- 

20 



286 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

eessful in the presence of such a lack of interest in it, 
on the part of the majority of the inhabitants of Paris, 
as was everywhere manifest. So far as we could judge, 
the active forces of the Revolution consisted of only a 
few hundred men and boys. For a long time they were 
afraid to act ; they gradually grew bold through immunity, 
and, in the end, were surprised at the results of their own 
audacity. Why these bands were not quickly dispersed 
in a city then under martial law, and occupied by a strong 
military force, was to us at that time incomprehensible. 
Later, we learned how all these things happened so unex- 
pectedly, and without any hitch in the proceedings. The 
program en cas que had been already sketched out by the 
chief conspirators. 

It may be observed here that as, during the last two 
or three years of the Imperial regime, the Government 
became less personal and more liberal and democratic, the 
small band of irreconcilable opponents of the dynasty be- 
came more defiant and violent in their denunciation of the 
Government and all its acts. Every incident that could be 
made a pretext for a hostile manifestation was seized upon. 
Scurrilous journals, like the Lanterne, the Bappel, and the 
Marseillaise, were founded, and flourished also by reason 
of the very audacity of the personalities they ventured to 
publish, and the abominable insults they hurled at the 
Emperor, his family, and his Government. As more and 
more liberty of speech was permitted, in 1869-70, more 
and more inflammatory and intolerable became the utter- 
ances of this band of energumenes, among whom M. Henri 
Rochefort was facile princeps. 

The Emperor proposed to give to France a constitu- 
tional Government. The Radicals demanded the Republic 
of 1848. At public meetings Revolution was openly advo- 
cated. Now it was that the names of Delescluze, Felix 
Pyat, Blanqui, Amoroux, Protot, Megy, Flourens, Pascal 
Grousset, and others, began to make their appearance in 



THE REVOLUTION 287 

the newspapers. It was the Etat Major of the Commune 
of 1871. Grave disturbances of public order soon became 
frequent, and early in the year 1870 suddenly assumed 
formidable proportions. 

I shall never forget the surprise occasioned in Paris 
by the immense gathering of people at the funeral of Victor 
Noir, that took place on the 12th of January. 

Noir, having gone to the house of Prince Pierre Bona- 
parte and becoming engaged in a violent altercation, was 
shot and killed by the Prince. This unfortunate occur- 
rence was instantly seized upon by the revolutionary group 
as offering a most opportune subject for a popular mani- 
festation against the Imperial dynasty. Elaborate prepara- 
tions were made for a spectacular funeral. The Imperial 
family were subjected in the Radical press to a storm of 
insults. " For eighteen years," said Rochefort, in the col- 
umns of the Marseillaise, " France has been in the blood- 
stained hands of these cutthroats. Frenchmen, can it be 
that you do not think you have had enough of them? " 

As the hour of the funeral approached, in spite of the 
rain, more than a hundred thousand persons assembled 
along the route that the procession was to take. Seditious 
cries of " Vive la Repuhlique! " " Biort au Bonaparte! " 
were heard on every side. As soon as the procession began, 
to move, the horses were taken from the hearse, which 
was then drawn by working men, while behind it Noir's 
brother, the principal mourner, was carried on the shoul- 
ders of the agitators. It was no longer a funeral : it was 
a triumph. In the cemetery, at Neuilly, speeches were 
pronounced over the body of Noir, calling upon the people 
to avenge his death and to overthrow the Government. 
On returning to Paris, at the gates of the city, past the 
Arch of Triumph, and down the Champs Elysees, the 
demonstrations assumed so violent and threatening a char- 
acter, as for a moment — before the arrival of a regiment 
of cavalry — to frighten even the leaders. 



288 THE SECOND FRENCH EINIPIRE 

This revolutionary manifestation oi' the 12th of Janu- 
ary, 1870, was a revelation to the world, and, although 
generally regai-ded at the time as simply an exhibition 
of the insatiable curiosity of the Parisians, left a pro- 
found and painful impression upon the minds of all the 
friends of the Imperial family. 

But all this was forgotten when, in July, the Govern- 
ment was dealing with a question that seemed to be of 
far more serious import to the nation, if not to the dynasty, 
than the sayings and doings of certain political malcontents. 
And, after hostilities had actually begun, very few persons, 
carried away themselves by the immense wave of patriotic 
sentiment which swept over the land, suspected that there 
were Frenchmen who were then watching events in the 
hope that some great disaster might overwhelm the armies 
of France. 

Just after the declaration of war, a well-known Radical 
Deputy met in the Garden of the Tuileries M. Roche, a 
member of the Council of State. The conversation turning 
to the events of the day, this patriot, shaking his fist at 
the palace, cried out, " The creature that lives there has 
had such wonderful luck that he is capable of beating 
the Prussians; and then we should be — m the soup! " 

And there were others like him, as there are, unfor- 
tunately, in all countries — men who acknowledge no sov- 
ereign authority, and recognize no patriotism but their 
own fanaticism. 

And yet, paradoxical as it may seem, the insurrec- 
tionary movement in the streets of Paris, on the 4th of 
September, was not a manifestation of hostility against 
the Empire and the Napoleonic dynasty; it was in reality 
simply a rising to the surface of the social sediment of 
the city, after the shock of a national defeat, and at the 
same time a protest of the proletariat against every form 
of orderly government. The rioters were the men, or the 
descendants of the men, who in 1848 erected the barricades 



1 



THE REVOLUTION 289 

in the boulevards of the capital, reenforced by the teachings 
of German socialists or Russian anarchists, and organized 
under the direction of the Societe Internationale des 
Travailleurs. They were that " democracy of our day, 
full of peril," of which M. Guizot spoke in 1861, in his 
famous address before the French Academy, on the oc- 
casion of the reception of Lacordaire succeeding to the 
chair of Tocqueville, when he said : " It thinks it is society 
itself, and all there is of it. It wishes to dominate alone. 
And it has no respect for, and, I may say, refuses to recog- 
nize the existence of, any rights except its own. ' ' 

They appeared in force at the funeral of Victor Noir, 
and they filled the ballot-boxes with their votes on the 8th 
of May, 1870. While 7,358,786 votes were then cast by 
the French electors in favor of the Empire, and but 
1,571,939 votes were cast against it, the Government ob- 
tained in Paris but 138,000 votes, while 184,000 votes were 
cast against it. And Lyons, Marseilles, and other large 
cities gave at this plebiscitum similar majorities against 
the Government. But there is no occasion to attribute 
to these votes a political significance they do not possess. 
They were cast by men who are the products of the social 
conditions of our time, who thrive and multiply in the 
centers of industrialism, and who often become threatening, 
and are always to be taken seriously into account wherever 
universal suffrage obtains. They have no respect for the 
individual or his liberty, and are without patriotism, boast- 
ing that the world is their country. They would seem to 
have no special preference for any form of government, 
except it be that of a despotic oligarchy, but to be sys- 
tematically opposed to, and determined to upset, when 
possible, the one that happens to be in power. In 1885 
they came to the conclusion that they could do this, and 
destroy the Third Republic, and so they set up the cry 
of " C'est Bou — c'est Bou — c'est Boulanger qu'il nous 
faut." They were not disturbed in the least by the pos- 



290 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

sible consequences of their success, and hailed even with 
delight, the monarchical prospects which the electoral cam- 
paign of that year opened to their view. They failed then 
to accomplish their purpose, but they triumphed in the 
cities, as they had in 1870. 

And to-day they cast the majority of the votes in Paris 
and in the principal cities of France, and fill the municipal 
offices with men hostile to the parliamentary Republic. In 
fact, the state of affairs in these cities would be very 
serious indeed, were it not that the national Government 
exercises its right of sovereignty and the right of veto 
whenever it thinks proper, in every matter of municipal 
administration; and its power to enforce its will is pro- 
vided for by the maintenance of a strong garrison or 
army corps in the immediate neighborhood of each of 
the large cities. The control of the central Government 
over municipal affairs in Paris and elsewhere, in the 
present year, 1896, is as direct, as absolute and Ceesarean, 
as it was in 1866, with this difference only, that the 
Government was then called '' the Empire," and is now 
called " the Republic " — a dissimilarity which our late 
eminent Secretary of State, Mr. William H. Seward, the 
last time he was in Paris (in 1871), told me was the 
only one he had been able to detect between the Government 
then in power and the one that had preceded it. And 
the difference between the Governments in France in their 
dealings with the liberties of the people will continue to 
be one only of names and labels, so long as a centralized 
bureaucracy is considered by every party when in power 
not only as essential to its own existence, but as necessary 
for the preservation of public order. 

But so long as any kind of government, from an autoc- 
racy to anarchy, may be called " the Republic," and so 
long as the form of " the Republic " is not so definitely 
fixed that the most ultra Radicals may not hope to be 
able finally to shape it as they wish, there is no reason why 



THE REVOLUTION 291 

the French proletariat should manifest its hatred of the 
social system represented by the present French Parlia- 
mentary Republic in any other way than by upsetting 
the Administration, and forcing the Executive to form a 
new Ministry, whenever it is in the humor to do so ; which 
during the past twenty years has been on the average 
once in six months. 

Were the Paris electorate, however, called upon to vote 
now, as in 1870, on the simple issue, " for " or " against " 
the existing Government, I am confident that the present 
Parliamentary Republic would obtain even a smaller vote 
than did the Empire in 1870. To infer, therefore, from 
the presence in the streets, on the 4th of September, of 
an overflow from the slums of the city, that these ^' mani- 
festors " and " roughs " had assembled to express their 
opinion as to the merits of dynasties or republics, is absurd. 
They were there because they had been summoned by their 
leaders to be there — to smash things. And they did the 
work they were expected to do. "I myself," said General 
Le Flo, a man whose republicanism was above suspicion, 
" was a witness of the invasion of the Chamber by that 
horde of scoundrels who appeared again in the Commune." 
But Favre, and Gambetta, and the Deputies of Paris got 
the fruit, because they were prepared to gather it the 
instant it fell. 

Before the end of August, a program having regard 
to the formation of a government had been prepared by 
Ledru Rollin, Gambetta, and others. This was to be acted 
upon immediately the success of a revolutionary movement 
could be clearly foreseen. The Republic was to be pro- 
claimed, but under the tricolored flag of France, not under 
the " red " flag of the socialist democracy. And so, when 
the Chamber of Deputies was invaded and the decheance 
was proclaimed, and the flag that had floated over the 
Tuileries was hauled down, there was a rush for the Hotel 
de Ville; and it was a race between Favre, Gambetta, 



292 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

de Keratry, and a number of the Paris Deputies, on the 
one side, and Delescluze, Milliere, and the representatives 
of the Internationale, on the other, which should get there 
first. Fortunately, the Paris Deputies won. And when 
Delescluze and the " clubbists " arrived, they found that 
the building was already occupied by the Government of 
the National Defense. The leaders of the mob were com- 
pelled to accept the accomplished fact, but they were 
furious in their disappointment, and violent in their de- 
nunciation of the " bourgeois assermentes du Corps legis- 
latif.^' And the " SociStes des travailleurs " discovered, 
shortly afterward, that they had been the tools of the 
lawyers and the clever political conspirators by whom, 
with the complaisant cooperation of General Trochu, the 
Republic had been adroitly escamotee (filched), to use the 
picturesque language of the day. (See Appendix VIII.) 

I trust that in these few paragraphs I have so far 
cleared up a small but important part of the field of French 
politics, that the reader will have no great difficulty in 
seeing why and how, on the 4th of September, things came 
to pass as they did, easily and smoothly, and how the 
" Third Republic " came into existence, as it were, by a 
process of natural evolution. 

The clamor of the Radicals in the Chamber of Deputies, 
when the first unfavorable news arrived from the frontier, 
demanding that the National Guard should be called out, 
had the appearance of being an appeal to the patriotic 
sentiment of the nation. In fact, its purpose was to arm 
the mob, that they might be able to take advantage of 
any opportunity to upset the Government which chance 
should offer. 

Not satisfied with calling out the National Guard, Jules 
Favre proposed that in each ward of the city of Paris 
a gun should immediately be put in the hands of every 
citizen whose name was inscribed on the electoral list ; and 
thirty-three Deputies were ready to vote for this extraor- 



THE REVOLUTION 293 

dinary proposition — that is to say, to arm the mob at 
once. Could any act have more clearly revealed their 
purpose ? 

And now the opportunity looked for, hoped for, had 
arrived. The day before, the Governor of Paris had been 
approached. It was understood that he would not oppose 
a revolutionary movement ; the way would be made smooth ; 
every door would be found wide open. And so it was 
that, on Sunday morning, the special details of the police 
about the public offices were dismissed, and the 2,500 troops 
of the line who had been guarding the Chamber of Depu- 
ties were ordered away, and their places taken by a few 
companies of the Garde Nationale. National Guards also 
were posted about the Tuileries. They, the " moblots,'^ 
as they were affectionately called by the populace, could 
be trusted by the plotters; they would be ready to cry 
" Vive la Repuhlique! " when the order was given. Just 
as, six months later, these Pretorians of anarchy and mis- 
rule were ready to cry " Vive la Commune! " and to re- 
establish the Reign of Terror. 

And then was revealed the meaning of those strange 
words in the strange letter that Trochu addressed, on the 
20th of August, to the editor of the Temps, in reply to 
an article published in that newspaper. " The mistake," 
said he, " of all the Governments I have known, has been 
to consider force as the ultima ratio of power. The idea 
of preserving order with the bayonet and the sword in 
Paris, when given up to the most legitimate anguish and 
the disturbances that are its consequences, fills me with 
horror and disgust." In a word, public notice was then 
given by the Military Governor that in a certain eventuality 
— namely, an insurrection breaking out in Paris — he would 
not employ force to suppress it.* 

* Greneral Trochu has denied that he gave any order for the with- 
drawal of the troops posted at the Palais-Bourbon, and that General 
Caussade, who had the command of them, was not under his orders. 



294 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPHir: 

The Second Empire fell, seemingly, like a house of cards 
before a pufT of wind; but why it so fell, and without 
an effort to save it, is no longer a mystery. Not only 
the Regent and her Ministers, but the representatives of 
the people constituting the Legislative Body, had been 
betrayed. And that at the very moment when, conscious 
of the immense responsibilities resting upon her, animated 
by patriotic considerations alone, and with the noblest self- 
abnegation, the Empress was devoting every thought to 
the one object of checking the advance of the German in- 
vasion, and protecting in the largest measure possible the 
prestige, the honor, and the territorial integrity of France. 
When the treachery was discovered it was too late; the 
armed force at the capital had been arrayed against the 
Government. It was powerless to resist; it was forced to 
retire; and for the very same reason that the Government 
which usurped its place was compelled not long after to 
steal out of Paris under cover of the night, and without 
striking a blow in its own defense.* 

But he was the Military Governor of Paris; and his attitude in case of 
a revolutionary movement he had revealed to M. de K6ratry, and 
others who called upon him a few days before the 4th of September 
to sound him on the subject. (" Deposition de M. de K^ratry," op. cit.) 

If further evidence of his state of mind is required, it may be found 
in his own testimony before the Parliamentary Commission (" Enquete 
Parlementaire," tome i, p. 313). He there says: " I repeat, it is not 
my business to defend General Caussade; but you think that the troops 
would have fired if he had given the order. That is your mistake — 
to imagine that in the circumstances these troops would have been 
disposed to employ force — whoever may have affirmed it. I declare 
it absolutely contrary to the truth; you may think so, it is your right, 
but you are mistaken. It was morally impossible; I have said so 
several times. My conviction on this subject is of long date." 

* This account of the proximate cause of the fall of the Imperial 
Government will serve to show the very remarkable way in which 
history repeats itself — in France — when read in connection with the 
following paragraph, which I quote from the " Student's History of 
France," pu Wished by Harper & Brothers in 1862: 

'Never did a strong . . . Government succumb . . . from causes 




THE EMPKESS AND MADAME LEBRETON AT DK. EVANS'S 
HOUSE. 



THE EMPRESS AT MY HOUSE 295 

Leaving the Rue de la Paix, we passed into the boule- 
vards, which were full of Sunday promenaders, quiet and 
orderly, only curious to see everything and hear all about 
what was taking place. On reaching the Madeleine, we 
drove up the Boulevard Malesherbes, now peaceful and 
silent, and through the Park Monceau — beautiful as al- 
ways, with its fresh green lawns and bright parterres of 
flowers, and groups of happy children — and then along 
deserted streets and avenues, until we reached my house. 
Here, as I had arranged to have this evening a gentlemen's 
dinner-party, I wished to stop to give an order, before 
driving on to the Bois. It was then about six o'clock. 
Handing the reins to Dr. Crane, I said, " I shall be gone 
but a few minutes. ' ' 

On entering my house, a servant said to me : ' ' There 
are two ladies in the library who wish to see you. They 
have not given their names, and decline to state why 
they have come here; but they seem to be very anxious 
to see you, and have been waiting for you more than an 
hour. ' ' 

After giving my order, I went to see who these visitors 
were that had called upon me in this rather singular and 
mysterious manner. When I stepped into the room, and 
found myself standing in the presence of the Empress 
Eugenie, my astonishment can hardly be imagined. 

" Perhaps you are surprised to see me here," said the 
Empress. " You know what has taken place to-day — that 
the Government is in the hands of the Revolutionists." 

Then in a few words she told me how she had been 
obliged to leave the Tuileries suddenly, without prepara- 

apparently more insufficient. There was no powerful party in France, 
before the outbreak of the 22d of February, which seriously desired the 
overthrow of the existing system; still less was the nation in general pre- 
pared to try the desperate experiment of a second Republic. The 
Revolution of 1848 was simply and literally the result of a mischievous 
and contemptible trick.". The italics are textual. 



296 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

tion, almost without warning. " And I have come to 
you," she said, " for protection and assistance, because 
I have full confidence in your devotion to my family. 
The service I now ask in my behalf and in that of the 
lady (Madame Lebreton) who is with me, will be a severe 
test of your friendship. ' ' 

I at once assured her Majesty that I should be only 
too happy to give her the protection she sought; that I 
held myself entirely at her service, and would willingly 
do anything in my power which might be necessary to 
secure her personal safety, or to assist her in any way. 
She thanked me with emotion. And referring again to 
the events that had just occurred, she contrasted them with 
her surroundings only a few short weeks before. 

' ' You see, ' ' she said, * ' I am no longer fortunate. The 
evil days have come, and I am left alone." 

She stopped speaking, and tears filled her eyes. 

The fact thai the lady whom I had known for so many 
years as the illustrious sovereign of France was a fugitive 
under my roof; that she who had been surrounded by 
friends and courtiers, and all the powers of the State, 
now seemed to be deserted and forgotten by every one in 
her own country; that she had been forced to come to a 
foreigner for help — these things could not fail to produce 
in my mind a feeling of pain as well as of sympathy. 

While her Majesty was talking I had scarcely spoken; 
I was too much absorbed in hearing what had happened 
to her, why she had come to me, and what she wished 
to do. Indeed, there was little occasion for me to ask 
questions, so directly and simply did she say all that was 
necessary for me to clearly understand the essential facts 
of the case. Moreover, I was the privileged witness of 
her sorrow and distress. While speaking, she sat in a 
deep armchair; and the pale light from the window by 
her side falling upon her still paler face, careworn and 
sad but singularly beautiful, I could not help being 



THE EMPRESS AT MY HOUSE 297 

profoundly touched by the pathos of the situation. And 
if I felt a certain pride in having been chosen as the protec- 
tor of this noble but unfortunate lady, I knew that I should 
have still better reason to feel proud and happy when I 
had justified the confidence she had placed in me, by 
my efforts to rescue her from the danger that seemed 
imminent, and which she certainly had cause to fear. 

I now asked her Majesty if she had any special plan 
that she desired to carry out. 

She replied that she wished to go to England, if she 
could, and expressed, in particular, a very earnest desire 
to leave Paris as quickly as possible. She thought that 
an attempt might be made, when it was discovered she 
had left the Tuileries, to find out where she had gone, 
and that orders might be issued by the promoters of the 
Revolution to arrest her. She also wished to get beyond 
the reach of the mob; for she w^as quite aware that the 
false and malicious representations respecting her personal 
responsibility for the war, which had been industriously 
circulated by the enemies of the Imperial Government, 
had excited a bitter feeling of animosity against her among 
certain classes of the people only too eager to seize an 
opportunity to manifest it by some act of vindictive vio- 
lence. It was her opinion, therefore, that no time should 
be lost ; that she should proceed on the way at once, without 
stopping too long to consider the direction to be taken or 
to fix upon a halting-place. But it was not that she was 
unduly alarmed. In fact, she did not appreciate the real 
danger she was in. Morally, she was brave and resolute. 
She had no fear of any peril that might be encountered, 
so long as she could feel that she was doing something. 
But to stop and quietly wait, doing nothing, this seemed 
to her to be very hard indeed. It was quite natural that 
it should have been so, and was only a momentary matter 
of nerves. The Empress was, at the time, weary and nearly 
exhausted by the stress and strain of incessant work. 



298 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

emotional excitement, and the fearful sense of responsi- 
bility to which she had been subjected during the whole 
period of the Regency. She was also suffering greatly 
from insufficient sleep and the want of food. In constant 
receipt of important despatches, she had been unable to 
sleep for more than a few minutes at a time for over a 
week, and had scarcely eaten anything in the preceding 
twenty-four hours. That under these circumstances, and 
at a critical moment, she should have appeared to be ill 
at ease, and have shown a little nervous impatience to start 
off on her journey, is certainly not surprising. 

I endeavored to reassure her. I told her that as no 
one knew where she thought of going when she left the 
Tuileries, it was not likely any one could immediately 
discover where she had gone; and, furthermore, that I 
Avas quite sure she would not be disturbed, and was 
perfectly safe so long as she remained under my roof. I 
urged upon her the necessity of taking some refreshment; 
after which, I told her, we should have plenty of time 
to consider what would be the safest and best course for 
us to follow, in order to carry out her wishes. I then 
begged her Majesty to excuse me for a little while. 

Having directed a servant to prepare a lunch for the 
ladies in my library, I ordered the gate to be opened and 
the carriage to be brought into the yard. 

Dr. Crane had been patiently waiting my return for 
a continuation of our drive, and its abrupt end seemed 
to surprise him. But he was still more surprised when 
I whispered into his ear, as he stepped out of the carriage, 
" The Empress is here! " After a moment I continued: 
" The question is, what are we to do? Come in, and let 
us talk this over. It is now half past six o'clock. My 
guests who have been invited to dine with me this evening 
may be expected to arrive, some of them, very soon. Shall 
we dismiss them as they come, or go on with the dinner? 
The situation is not only awkward, but difficult." 



THE EMPRESS AT MY HOUSE 299 

The conclusion we came to was that Dr. Crane should 
receive the gentlemen as they arrived, and excusing my ab- 
sence on the ground that the events of the day had made 
it necessary for me to look after certain private affairs, 
should entertain them in my place; that in the meantime 
I would have a good opportunity to confer with her Majesty 
with respect to her plans and wishes ; that after the dinner 
Dr. Crane should join in the conference, and a final 
decision then be reached. 

Little did I think, when I invited these gentlemen to 
my house, that the overthrow of the Imperial Government 
would prevent me from doing the honors of the occasion 
myself. I had expected, before we separated — my company 
being mostly members of the American Sanitary Committee 
— to talk over the questions which were then especially 
interesting us, and with respect to which our decisions 
Avould become important in the event of a siege. 

I had hoped, also, the opportunity was at hand for 
me to show to France, and to the reigning family, that 
I was not unmindful of the hospitality which I had received 
from them for many years past, and that I was now 
ready to reciprocate kindnesses by offering relief to those 
who might suffer in their behalf upon the field of battle. 
Providence had seemingly ordered it otherwise : that I 
was to prove to the world my devotion to the Imperial 
family by saving for the Emperor his wife, and for the 
Imperial Prince his mother; while to France I was to 
repay my debt of gratitude by preventing the people from 
the possible committal of a crime which, in a moment of 
excitement — forgetting the old traditions of French cour- 
tesy, the respect due to misfortune, the regard due to the 
feeble — they might have been led to, and which would have 
left an ineffaceable stain upon the name of the country. 

And it is a pleasure for me to say here that not only 
the adherents of the Empire, but a great many Monarchists, 
together with some of the most ardent Republicans, among 



300 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

whom I wish to mention in particular the Count de Paris 
and ]VJ. Gambetta, expressed their gratitude to me afterward 
in the warmest terms for having placed the Empress be- 
yond the reach of the insults of the Paris mob. 

Dr. Crane and I had scarcely come to an understanding 
in the matter under consideration, when the gate-bell rang 
and my guests began to arrive. I then returned to the 
ladies in the library. They had had their lunch, and I 
found the Empress had wonderfully revived. She talked 
with animation, narrating to me some of the incidents 
that occurred during the last days of the Regency, revert- 
ing, however, constantly to the subject of her immediate 
solicitude — how she was to get away from Paris. 

It seems that, shortly before the 4th of September, 
several of the persons attached to the Court, officially or 
otherwise, being aware of the gravity of the political 
situation, became anxious about the safety of her Majesty, 
and suggested to her that preparations should be made 
to meet the very worst that could happen — a Revolution 
in Paris. But she did not care to listen to this advice, and 
cut it short by saying: " Here I have been placed by 
the Emperor; here all the interests of the army and the 
country are centered; here it is my duty to be. I shall 
never run away from the Revolution." 

However, a number of passports were prepared, to 
be used in case they were needed, and among the countries 
of refuge, Belgium and England had been named. But 
no definite plan for securing the safety of the Empress, 
should she be compelled to abandon the Tuileries, had 
been fixed upon by any one, when the storm that swept 
away the Government suddenly broke on the afternoon 
of the 4th of September. Indeed, one of the most remark- 
able facts connected with the Empress' departure from 
her palace is that no officer of the Imperial Government, 
no one of those even who accompanied her and her lady 
companion through the galleries of the Louvre to the exit 



THE EMPRESS AT MY HOUSE 301 

on the Place Saint Germain I'Auxerrois, seems to have 
assumed any direct personal responsibility for her Maj- 
esty's safety. They, one and all, whether present in the 
palace or absent, appear to have supposed that somebody 
else had charged himself with this delicate and perhaps 
dangerous mission. Nor did the action of Prince de Metter- 
nich and Signor Nigra have in view anything more than 
the removal of the Empress from imminent danger — the 
peril to which she would have been exposed had the mob 
invaded the palace and found her still occupying her 
apartments. Once the street and a carriage were reached, 
the mission of these gentlemen came abruptly to an end, 
and the Empress, abandoned to the chances of the day, 
was left to work out her own salvation as best she could. 

It has often been said that during the last hours the 
Empress spent in the Tuileries she was deserted by nearly 
everybody attached to her person or connected with the 
service of the palace. This is untrue. All her ladies of 
honor who were in Paris came to the palace as usual on 
the 4th of September. Not an officer attached to the 
household was missing; and the domestics continued to 
perform their duties in the most perfect order until the 
Empress' departure was announced. Even then, the prin- 
cipal servants and the ushers did not quit their posts. 
M. d'Herisson, who went to the Tuileries about half an 
hour after the Empress had left her apartments, told me 
that, on reaching the first floor, he was stopped by an usher 
in full costume — chocolate coat, short breeches, black silk 
stockings, and a silver chain around his neck — who asked 
him what he wanted. To his statement, " I have a letter 
which it is important her Majesty should receive immedi- 
ately," the answer was, " But she has gone," and M. 
d'Herisson was obliged to retire. In his " Journal d'un 
Officier d'Ordonnance," where he seems to take a malicious 
satisfaction in describing what he discovered in the private 
rooms of the Empress, when he visited them on the following 
21 



302 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

day, M. d'Herisson admits that even then he observed only 
the evidences of a hurried departure. He says: " Were I 
to affirm that there was any great disorder, I should lie." 

The simple truth is, that up to the very last moment 
everything connected with the formal service of the palace 
went on as usual. Indeed, had it been otherwise, it would 
have been surprising to every one who knows that there 
were very few persons in Paris, on the 4th of September, 
1870, who, before the flag disappeared from the Tuileries, 
had the least suspicion of what was to take place on that 
day. Its unexpectedness was the characteristic feature of 
the Revolution of 1870. And it was this unexpectedness 
also which, while saving appearances for a time, caused 
a good many persons to lose their heads the instant they 
became fully conscious of the peril of the situation. 

In the absence of any prearranged plan, the Empress 
was at a loss to know what should be done in order to 
accomplish her present purpose — which was to go to 
England At first she suggested that, at about ten o'clock 
that evening, I should take her in my carriage as far 
as Poissy, some fifteen miles from Paris; saying that we 
might there meet a night train which would leave the Saint 
Lazare station at a quarter before one o'clock in the morn- 
ing, and would reach Poissy at half past one o'clock, and 
arrive in Havre a little before eight o 'clock ; she added that 
we could stop in Havre the next day (Monday), and take 
the boat which would leave for Southampton in the evening. 

The objections to our adopting this course were pointed 
out, and other suggestions were offered and considered. 
Several points were made pretty clear: all public convey- 
ances were to be avoided if we wished to escape the danger 
of recognition ; ten o 'clock in the evening was a bad hour 
at which to begin a journey in a carriage without a definite 
stopping-place in view; we were quite safe where we were 
till morning. It also occurred to me that it might be well 
for her Majesty to remain in Paris at least long enough 



THE EMPRESS AT MY HOUSE 303 

to ascertain if the revolutionists were in full possession 
of the city ; because, from what I myself had seen, it was 
almost impossible for me to believe that the Imperial 
Government had really been overthrown. The questions 
to be considered were too important to be decided hastily; 
and, moreover, it was evident that her Majesty was never 
more in need of a few ]{;urs' rest than now. However, 
I told her that I would have my horses ready to leave soon 
after ten o'clock, if it was thought best, all things con- 
sidered, that we should start off at that time. I then 
begged to be excused again, and occupied myself in making 
arrangements for the journey, and for a possible absence 
from Paris for an indeterminate time. 

About half past nine o'clock a servant announced to 
me that the dinner had been served and that my guests 
were leaving. Soon after, Dr. Crane joined me, and the 
question of the ways and means of enabling the Empress 
to make her escape from France with the least risk was 
very carefully reconsidered. So many persons had been 
led to believe that she was the principal instigator of the 
war, and that the Empress had recklessly sacrificed the 
French nation in an attempt to consolidate the Imperial 
dynasty, so violent had been the expressions of hostile 
feelings towards her in certain quarters, that we were 
quite of her own opinion that, if seen and recognized, 
she might be the object of a personal attack, or might 
be arrested by some individual without authority, but 
ambitious to signalize in a dramatic way his zeal for the 
Revolution. 

How absurd these accusations were, will be evident to 
all who have read the preceding chapters of this book; 
but at the time most Frenchmen were unwilling to recog- 
nize the truth. Rulers, when they are unfortunate and 
are crushed by the hand of fate, find few defenders, and 
whatever may be said against them is generally believed, 
for people are afraid to offend those who are in power; 



304 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

and at the downfall of the Empire, the power passed into 
the hands of men who had no respect for the late Govern- 
ment or sympathy for its friends. 

The people in every country have certainly a right 
to regulate their own political affairs in their own way. 
Whether the Empire or the Republic may have done the 
most for the welfare of the nation, and which form of 
Government is to be considered as the most conducive to 
the prosperity of France, are questions that time must 
decide; but the men of whom I speak, and who held the 
power during the days that immediately followed the 3d 
of September, were not Republicans; they were usurpers 
who represented no settled form of government; and in 
France there is no real patriot, to whatever party he may 
belong, who is now willing to defend the policy these 
men thought it expedient to adopt, and who is not ashamed 
of the license and anarchy that reigned in Paris for a 
long while after the fall of the Second Empire. 

Again, the Empress' arrest might be attempted for 
another reason. It was not certain that the Revolution 
proclaimed in the streets of Paris either was or would be 
successful. No one knew how it would be received by the 
country or by the army. The Empress, although a fugi- 
tive, was still Regent. Were she, therefore, once out of 
the capital and beyond the reach of the insurgents, the 
members and friends of the Imperial Government, and the 
army, might rally round her and a new seat of government 
be established. To prevent the possibility of such an event, 
the leaders of the Revolution might think it of the utmost 
importance to obtain possession of her person. With the 
Emperor a prisoner in the hands of the Germans, and 
the Em^press lodged at the Conciergerie in Paris, the 
overthrow of the Empire might properly be considered as 
complete and final. 

I was not surprised afterward to learn it was generally 
expected in the Chancelleries of Europe that, in the event 



THE EMPRESS AT MY HOUSE 305 

of a successful insurrection in Paris, the Regent would 
attempt to transfer the seat of the Imperial Government 
to some place in the provinces. That the leaders of the 
Revolution should apparently not have thought of this, 
nor taken any means to prevent it, is a remarkable fact, 
which reveals the extreme confusion and want of foresight 
existing at the time among those into whose hands power 
had suddenly fallen. They were so dazed and intoxicated 
by the prodigious results of a street riot, that for many 
days, happily, they forgot the very existence of the 
Empress. 

We were thoroughly impressed with the idea that we 
were about to engage in an undertaking attended by many 
risks, and that it would require great discretion on our 
part if it was to be successfully executed. What made 
caution all the more requisite was that, although very 
plainly dressed, the Empress could not divest herself of 
the air of distinction that marked every feature of her 
personality ; while from her frequent appearance in public, 
and through pictures and photographs, her face was so 
well known to Frenchmen, that were she seen by any half 
dozen of them she would almost certainly be recognized by 
more than one. 

Taking all these things into consideration, we were 
convinced that the journey to the coast could be made with 
some degree of safety only by keeping away as much as 
possible from all assemblies of people, and by making 
use of private conveyances alone. 

The next thing to do was to select some point on the 
coast from which we could easily embark, and at which, 
also, we could arrive without being exposed to public 
notice. 

My wife had been spending the month of August in 
Normandy, and was still at the Hotel du Casino in Deau- 
ville, a quiet seaside resort near Trouville, and not far 
from Havre. I was acquainted with the neighborhood, and. 



806 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

furthermore, my wife might be able to render us valuable 
assistance. Having, for these reasons, fixed upon Deau- 
ville as our objective point, as a place where, or near which, 
we should be likely to find a yacht or boat of some kind 
in which we could cross the Channel, it was next settled 
that we should begin the journey in my own carriage; 
since we felt pretty sure that we could count on finding 
relays of horses along the route in such towns as Mantes, 
Evreux, and Lisieux. And, finally, it was thought best 
that we should leave Paris early the next morning. 

This plan having been agreed upon between us, it was 
submitted to her Majesty, who accepted it very willingly, 
and evidently with a feeling of great relief; for a decision 
had been reached. It only remained to arrange a few 
details. 

The passports which the Empress had brought with her 
were now examined, and one of them was found to have 
been obtained at the British Embassy. In it, all whom it 
might concern were " requested and required to allow 
Dr. C (British subject), going to England, accom- 
panied by a patient, Mrs. B (also a British subject), 

to pass freely, also without let or hindrance, and to afford 
them every assistance and protection of which they may 
stand in need." 

This passport was dated the 13th day of August, and 
was signed * ' Lyons. ' ' It had been viseed and stamped, 
on the same date, at the Prefecture of Police in Paris. It 
was exactly what we wanted; it was not only a passport 
to England, but its terms were such as to enable us to 
complete our plan, and justify it in the most plausible 
manner possible. Dr. Crane would personate the physician. 

Dr. C ; the Empress, the patient; I, her brother; and 

Madame Lebreton, the nurse. 

It may be remarked that this passport was a hond fide 
document; that it had been made out for a well-kno^vn 
English physician and a patient, which, after having been 



THE EMPRESS AT MY HOUSE 307 

viseed at the Prefecture of Police, for some reason had 
not been called for. It was sent to the Tuileries shortly 
before the 4th of September, with several other passports, 
signed by Prince de Metternich, the Austrian Ambassador, 
to be used if needed, and according to the special require- 
ments of the case. 

It was arranged that we should all be ready to leave 
my house at half past five o'clock in the morning. The 
Empress and Madame Lebreton then retired for the night — 
but not to sleep, as her Majesty told me afterward. 

And it was no wonder; for the hours the unfortunate 
Empress spent that night in my house were the first in 
which she had really had time to reflect upon the events 
which had taken place on that fatal day. It was now 
for the first time that she began to realize their meaning — 
that she was no longer sovereign of France. Her husband 
was a prisoner of war ; her son 's fate was unknown to her ; 
she had lost an Empire, and was not only homeless, but 
her nearest friends did not know what had become of her. 
What a turmoil of thoughts, of memories, and emotions, 
must have troubled her ! All the scenes of the strange 
drama that had just been enacted at the Tuileries must 
have forced themselves upon her weary and unwilling mind 
most painfully and vividly, disappearing only to reappear, 
like the confused phantoms of an evil dream, but leaving 
behind, finally, the awful conviction that these things 
were no dream. And then the memories of other and 
happier days must have caused her to feel all the more 
acutely this fearful reverse of fortune. Of all that she 
once possessed, nothing now remained to her. Not only 
the homage of ministers, and chamberlains, and ladies of 
honor, and the splendor of palaces, but the objects to which 
her heart was most attached — the portraits of her father 
and mother and dearest friends, the sacred souvenirs of 
her youth, her marriage tokens, the playthings of her son — • 
all these things, invaluable on account of their tender 



808 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

associations, were lost to her, perhaps forever. And to- 
morrow — the future — with its possible dangers and its 
dark uncertainty, may it not have filled her anxious mind 
with sinister suggestions of other and even still greater 
misfortunes ? 

Probably not. The future was all that remained to her ; 
here it was that the greatest interests of her life were now 
centered. If, in the sequence of events, something was to be 
feared, much could be reasonably hoped for. Fortune, 
who had been so prodigal of her gifts in other days, might 
not have exhausted all her favors; it was pleasanter to 
think of happiness yet to come, and more useful to 
consider what her own course should be in order to avoid 
difficulties and dangers and secure the objects most ardently 
desired. The Empress was not the woman to abandon a 
ship that seemed to be sinking, or to give way to vain 
regrets. She was never a pessimist, but possessed a happy, 
hopeful temperament that always inclined her to look upon 
the bright side of things. And I am disposed to believe 
that, if she slept but little during this night, it was very 
much less on account of looking back and grieving about 
what she had lost, than for the reason that her active, 
resourceful mind was engaged in looking forward, and 
thinking where her duty lay and of what might still be 
saved. 

As it was not late, Dr. Crane returned to the city to 
ascertain what the situation was there, and, if possible, 
to learn if anything new had occurred that would cause 
us to alter our plans, or might in any way especially 
concern us. He came back a little before one o'clock, 
and reported the quarters he had visited to be perfectly 
quiet. The Guards were on duty about the Tuileries as 
usual. He noticed also on the walls of the palace, and 
at the sides of the arched passageways leading into the 
Place du Carrousel and the courts of the Louvre, the words 
" Propriete Nationale " in large letters written in chalk. 



THE EMPRESS AT MY HOUSE 309 

It M^as evident that there had been no invasion of these 
buildings. He had heard that a new Government had been 
proclaimed at the Hotel de Ville, of which Jules Favre, 
Gambetta, and Rochefort were members. At midnight, 
except at the cafes, the streets were deserted. Indeed, 
he had seen very little to indicate that the population 
of Paris was yet fully conscious of the profound and 
far-reaching consequences of the events that had oc- 
curred during the day, although it was quite clear that 
the revolutionists were in undisputed possession of the 
city. 

In the meantime, I had thought it best to make a sort 
of reconnaissance in the direction of the Porte Maillot, 
the gate at the end of the Avenue de la Grande Armee, 
through which we were to attempt the next morning to 
leave the city. The streets along which I passed were 
silent and deserted. On reaching a point from which 
I could see the gate, I stopped, and, after watching a little 
while, noticed that cabs and carriages were permitted to 
pass in and out without apparently being subjected to 
much, if any, inspection on the part of the guard on 
duty. I was very soon convinced, from what I saw, that 
no orders had been given establishing a rigid surveillance 
at the exits from the city, and returned to my house 
feeling quite confident that we should be able to pass 
this post in the morning without much difficulty. 

Neither Dr. Crane nor I thought of rest, and although 
I could rely entirely on the fidelity of my servants, we 
both sat up the whole night watching over the safety of 
her Majesty. 

During the gloomy hours that dragged slowly on, my 
mind was filled with memories and pictures of the past. 
I remembered the Empress as she appeared when I first 
saw her, her memorable marriage, her brilliant Court; 
and the Emperor, his kindnesses to me personally, and how 
profound an interest he always took in the welfare of his 



310 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

people — a swiftly moving, countless multitude of scenes 
and thoughts, that under the shadow of the somber realities 
of the day came to me as souvenirs, not of things once 
witnessed by myself or that happened within my own 
knowledge, but rather of some story of Wonderland. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS FROM PARIS 

The departure from my house — How we passed through the Porte 
Maillot — A little history — The Empress talks freely — The French 
people — Saint-Germain-en-Laye — On the road to Poissy — We stop 
at the wine-shop of Madame Fontaine — A la bonne franquette — 
We stop again near Mantes — fortunatos agricolas — I procure an- 
other carriage and fresh horses — The formation of the new Govern- 
ment is reported to her Majesty — Her astonishment on hearing 
that General Trochu was the President of this Government — Her 
conmients — Could she no longer rely on any one? — The conse- 
quences of the Revolution in Paris not fully apprehended at the 
time — The Empress discusses the situation — Her courage — Her 
patriotism. 

|T was about five o'clock on the morning of Sep- 
tember 5th when I rapped upon the door of 
her Majesty's room, and informed her that the 
hour fixed for our departure was at hand. 
Soon after we had taken a light breakfast — a cup of coffee 
and a roll — a servant announced that my landau, a four- 
seated covered carriage, was at the door, and we were 
ready to go. 

We left the house dressed as we were the evening be- 
fore. Not a bag, not a package even of toilet articles, did 
one of us carry. The Empress had on a black cashmere 
dress, which, she told me afterward, she had not taken off 
for nearly a week, subject as she had been to calls at every 
hour of the day and night. Over this she wore a dark- 
colored, thin waterproof cloak or mackintosh. A narrow, 
white collar about the neck, dark gloves, and a round, 

311 




312 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

black Derby hat, to which was attached a plain black veil, 
completed her costume. Not the slightest attempt had been 
made to disguise her person, beyond such concealment as 
might be afforded by a dress too simple and common to 
attract attention. In the hurry of leaving the palace she 
had taken with her absolutely nothing more than the 
clothes she wore, except a small reticule, in which were 
a couple of handkerchiefs. She had no visible jewels with 
her, or money, or valuables of any sort. Madame Lebreton, 
her companion, was also very simply dressed, and without 
wraps, or articles de voyage of any kind whatsoever. 

Madame Lebreton entered the carriage first, taking the 
back seat on the right hand ; the Empress took the seat on 
the left. Dr. Crane sat opposite Madame Lebreton, and I 
took the place opposite the Empress. This disposition of 
seats had been prearranged; it would, in a measure, keep 
the Empress out of sight of the guards stationed on the 
left-hand side of the gate through which we were to pass. 
The carriage was closed, a window only being open on the 
side taken by Madame Lebreton and Dr. Crane. My faith- 
ful coachman, Celestin, was on the box. I told him to 
drive to Saint Germain, 

It was a few minutes before sunrise when we started 
on our journey. The sky was cloudless; the atmosphere 
seemed slightly hazy in the soft gray light; the air was 
cool and fresh, but there was no wind. It was, in short, 
a lovely September morning, and everything gave promise 
of the fine day it proved to be. As we crossed the sec- 
tion of the city between my house and the foot of the 
Avenue de la Grande Armee, we saw the street-sweepers 
at their work, shutters being taken down by shopkeepers, 
market-wagons, and milk-carts, and other familiar indica- 
tions of the hour — evidence, in a word, that the events of 
the preceding day had not interfered perceptibly with the 
functions most intimately connected with the organic life 
of the city. When we arrived at the gate we were ordered 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 313 

to halt. As the officer of the guard approached, I let down 
the window at my right; and on his coming close to the 
door of the carriage and asking me where we were going, 
I leaned forward, and, partly filling the opening with my 
head and shoulders, told him that I was going with my 
carriage, horses, and coachman into the country to spend 
the day with the friends who were with me ; that I was an 
American; that I lived in Paris, and was well known to 
everybody in the neighborhood. He did not ask my name. 
Had he done so I probably should have given it. My reply 
to his question seemed to be perfectly satisfactory to him ; 
for, stepping back, he looked up at the coachman, and said, 
" Allez" (go on). 

I may add, to complete the account of this interview 
with the guard at the Porte Maillot, that, fearing a person 
on coming close to the carriage might see and have too 
good an opportunity to inspect the occupants of the back 
seat, I had provided myself, before starting off, with a 
newspaper to be used as a screen, should the case require 
it. While speaking with the officer on guard, I held the 
paper loosely opened in my left hand, which rested on the 
side of the window nearest the Empress. This newspaper 
completely concealed her face from the view of any one 
standing on that side of the carriage. 

As I leaned back in my seat I heard the rumble of our 
wheels as we went over a sort of drawbridge thrown across 
the moat in front of the fortifications, which had been 
extended and cut through the roadway, and I caught a 
glimpse of some palisades and earthworks that had just 
been erected to defend this entrance to the city in the event 
of a siege. In a moment we were past the outposts and the 
sentries, and I was greatly delighted to know that we had 
escaped the first, and perhaps greatest, danger we were to 
meet on our journey. Indeed, it was an immense relief 
to every one of us to feel that, after the long hours of 
anxious waiting through the night for the day to come, 



314 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

we were now safely out of Paris and on our way to the 
coast. 

But I could not help looking back once more upon the 
city where I had resided so many years, and which I had 
left, in all probability, for a long time, perhaps forever; 
for the future nobody could foresee, and all the indications 
seemed to justify the most gloomy apprehensions. Behind 
us loomed up the majestic form of the Arc de Triomphe, 
reminding me of the first Napoleon, of his prodigious 
achievements and his wonderful career, but also of the 
fate of his Empire, and of the man whose sole aim was the 
glorification of France. And was history about to repeat 
itself? The successor and continuator of the grand ideas 
of the great Captain was to-day a prisoner of war; and 
she to whom only a few weeks before the world was only 
too eager to pay homage, dethroned and abandoned, was 
fleeing from her capital under cover of the dawn. 

Continuing on our way down that celebrated avenue 
along which " the Grand Army " of Napoleon had so often 
marched in triumph, and coming in sight of Courbevoie, 
the sunlight fell upon Mont Valerien, and illuminated the 
hills on the left bank of the Seine, at the feet of which, 
close by the river, framed in foliage just beginning to be 
touched by the tints of autumn, lay the villages of Puteaux, 
and Suresnes, and Saint Cloud; while higher up, in the 
park of Montretout or on the wooded slopes and green 
terraces in front of us, glimpses of the red roofs, or white, 
shining walls of villas or kiosks were to be seen. The 
landscape that was spread out before us was most charm- 
ing, full of natural beauty and repose, but at this early 
hour so wonderfully still, so suggestive of peace and happi- 
ness, and so contrasting with the noisy scenes of passion 
and violence which we had just witnessed, as to make us 
feel that we were now in quite another and altogether 
blessed and heavenly world. The very sight of the open 
country relieved the tension of our jaded nerves, and we 



[ 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 315 

began to breathe more freely under the spell of its sooth- 
ing and benign influence. Our hearts were full of the joy 
of a deliverance from a great danger; and the fresh morn- 
ing air that entered our carriage windows, now opened, was 
most grateful to us, especially to her Majesty, who had been 
subjected so long to the terrible weight of official respon- 
sibility and personal anxieties. 

Yet there was something inexpressibly sad in the 
thoughts suggested at every turn of our route. On the 
right once stood the Chateau of Neuilly, the favorite resi- 
dence of Louis Philippe. It was only a little over twenty 
years before, in February, 1848, that I had seen this splen- 
did building plundered by the mob, and almost burned to 
the ground. And soon we were passing by the bronze 
statue of the " Little Corporal," standing like a sentry 
on guard at the end of the broad Avenue in the Rond-Point 
of Courbevoie — but since removed by the " Patriots " and 
pitched into the Seine. Two or three miles farther on we 
came in sight of the Church of Rueil, where rest the ashes 
of the Empress Josephine, and of Queen Hortense, the 
mother of Napoleon III. And this mother was herself a 
fugitive from the Tuileries, when, in March, 1814, the vic- 
torious army of the allies reached Paris ; and as she escaped 
from the city she heard the guns that fired the last shots 
in its defense from the Buttes Chaumont. Strange as it 
may seem, these guns were under the command of Colonel 
Porto Carrero, Count de Teba, the father of the Empress 
Eugenie. A few minutes later we passed the gate of the 
Park of Malmaison, the famous Chateau in which the Em- 
press Josephine so long resided, and where she died; and 
where, after Waterloo, Napoleon sought a refuge for a day 
with his mother ; and whence, with a ' ' Good-by, mother, ' ' 
" Good-by, son," mother and son separated, she to be 
thenceforth, to use her own words, " la mere de toutes les 
douleurs," and he, the son, never to see France again; and 
where Napoleon III. also saw for the last time his uncle, 



316 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

who, as he turned to leave the house, seeing the little Prince, 
caught him up in his arms, and with tears in his eyes kissed 
him again and again. Is it strange that the great image of 
Napoleon should have been graven upon the heart of this 
child, there to remain forever ? 

What memories this word " Malmaison " brought to 
mind ! Everything about us was suggestive. The very road 
we were traveling had been a via dolorosa in the history 
of the Bonaparte family. And of the moving scenes of 
romance and tragedy of which this place had been the 
witness, was this hurried flight to be the last ? * 

The spirits of the Empress rose as we went on our way 
along the roiite Imperiale, the great highway that follows 
the left bank of the Seine through Bougival, Marly, and 
Le Pecq, these lovely suburbs of the French capital, where 
the parks and gardens were still fresh, and clean, and full 
of color ; and she talked freely, and often with great anima- 
tion, about her present difficult situation, and the events 
and incidents that had led up to it. 

" They asked me to abdicate," she said, " but how 
could I? How could I, who have acted only as a delegate, 
abdicate a sovereignty that is not my own ? I had, on per- 
sonal grounds, no objection to doing this ; I was quite will- 
ing to surrender into the hands of the representatives of 
the people all my power as Regent, but it seemed to me 
necessary, in the interests of France, that the Regency 
should be maintained in name in order to meet with effi- 
ciency the exigencies of the moment. And I told them that 
the one thing, the only thing, that should concern us now 
is the military situation, the enemy, and our armies; and 
that in the defense of the country I was ready to assist 
any persons, no matter who they might be, provided they 
possessed the confidence of the nation." 

* The place derived its name "Malmaison" {Mala Domus) from 
tragedies that took place there nearly a thousand years ago, during its 
occupancy by the Normans. 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 317 

Everything indicated that Paris would be besieged 
within a few weeks; and when her Majesty recalled how 
much she herself had done to prepare the city for such an 
emergency, she felt deeply grieved that she should not be 
permitted to have the just satisfaction of guiding, by her 
authority and judgment, the defense toward which she had 
contributed so much. How willingly would she have run 
all risks, and have made every sacrifice for her subjects ! 
How gladly would she have shared their sorrows and mis- 
fortunes! How bravely would she have endured all suf- 
fering ! 

" I could have been," she said, " of service in many 
ways. I could have been an example of devotion to my 
country. I could have visited the hospitals; I could have 
gone to the outposts; I could have encouraged and stimu- 
lated the defense at every point of danger by my presence." 
Finally, wrought up, as it were, to a state of exaltation 
by her own words, she cried out : ' ' Oh, why could they not 
have let me die before the walls of Paris ! ' ' 

She referred with indignation to the attempts that had 
been made to throw upon her personally the responsibility 
for the war — a war justifiable solely because German diplo- 
macy had put in jeopardy the prestige of the French 
nation; and which had been precipitated by the clamor 
of the very persons who were now trying to disclaim any 
responsibility for its consequences, and at the same time 
were rejoicing at the opportunity thus given them to rise 
to power on the ruins of the State. ' ' The French people, ' ' 
she went on to say, " have great and shining qualities, but 
they have few convictions, and lack steadfastness. They 
are versatile, but volatile. They love glory and the sun- 
shine, but have no heart for reverses of fortune. With 
them the standard of right is success. In France we are 
honored to-day and banished to-morrow. It has sometimes 
seemed to me that the French set up their heroes, as it were, 
on pedestals of salt, so that when the first storm strikes them 
22 



S18 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

they tumble down, to lie forever in the mud. In no country 
in the world is the step between the sublime and the ridic- 
ulous so short as in this. And how French history repeats 
itself ! Every Government in France, for a hundred years, 
with a single exception, has ended in a Revolution and a 
flight. Only a few days ago I declared to some of those who 
were near me and were fearful lest the announcement of 
another defeat might lead to the fall of the Imperial Gov- 
ernment, that I never would leave the Tuileries in a cab, 
as Charles X, and Louis Philippe did. And that is exactly 
what I have done ! " As she said this, she could not resist 
the impulse to laugh at the comicality of the coincidence. 

But the subjects referred to sometimes brought the 
tears to her eyes ; as, for instance, when she told us of the 
despatch she received from the Emperor on Saturday eve- 
ning, announcing that the army had surrendered at Sedan, 
and that he was a prisoner, after having in vain sought to 
die on the field. "It is terrible! " she exclaimed. " I 
cannot think of it, and I myself am here a fugitive ! It 
all seems like a horrid nightmare." Then, quickly chan- 
ging the conversation to some political subject, she dis- 
cussed it with vivacity as well as with remarkable per- 
spicacity; or some personal incident coming to mind, she 
narrated it with striking, and often amusing, originality 
and esprit. 

And now the first houses of Saint- Germain-en-Laye 
came in sight, and the anxieties of the moment arrested 
the conversation. 

We had again come to a place where caution was neces- 
sary, because, before entering the city, we had to pass the 
toll-gate, where the Octroi officers were stationed, and an 
inspection of our carriage, for the purpose of seeing 
whether we had with us any articles subject to the Octroi 
(the city toll), was sure to take place. We could not, of 
course, avoid this investigation, and I had to think of some 
device by which I might be able to quiet the suspicions of 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 319 

these toll-takers in case they should be too inquisitive. 
Remembering that near Saint Germain there lived an 
English lady, one of my acquaintances, who was very well 
known, and was loved by all the inhabitants of the neigh- 
borhood on account of her charity and kindness to the poor, 
I had decided to state, should I be asked where we were 
going, or if any trouble should arise, that we were the 
friends of this lady, and I was nearly certain that any of 
her friends would be respected ; while at the same time I 
was persuaded that a few words to Lady Trotter — this 
was the name of the lady — would be sufficient to make her 
enter into my plans for the safety of her Majesty. 

Fortunately, things turned out better than we had ex- 
pected, and we were not obliged to appeal to Lady Trotter. 
The officers, when we reached the gate, permitted our car- 
riage to pass almost without stopping. They had no sus- 
picion of the character or quality of the travelers who with 
so much anxiety awaited the result of this inspection ; it 
was quite enough for them to know that we did not look 
like persons who wished to smuggle chickens, or cheese, 
wine, vegetables, or other similar articles, into the worthy 
city of Saint Germain. 

I will confess I was greatly relieved when we had 
passed the toll-gate; for I was afraid that my house had 
been watched, or that our movements after leaving it 
had attracted attention, and that a telegram might have 
been sent ahead of us to Saint Germain to stop us on our 
arrival there. 

Although we were tempted to make inquiries here as 
to whether any special news had been received from Paris, 
we did not think it wise to ask questions, and so drove 
on without stopping, leaving the city, a few minutes later, 
by the gate which opens on the road to Poissy. After a 
short drive through the beautiful forest of Saint Germain, 
we reached this town, which is well known as the birth- 
place of Louis IX.; a fact which suggested to one of our 



320 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

party an additional piece of history, as a pertinent re- 
minder, perhaps, of the transitory glory of this world, 
namely, that Philip the Fair had a church erected at 
this place, where once rose the royal residence of his 
ancestors, and that the altar had been put exactly on 
the spot where formerly stood the bed in which Blanche 
de Castille gave birth to the most pious of the French 
monarchs. King Philip, we were told, did not think that 
this edifice erected in honor of the Lord would ever suc- 
cumb to the cruel hand of political revolution. He was 
mistaken, however. Nothing is eternal but change. And 
so when the Revolution of '93 came to startle sleeping 
France, like the sudden eruption of a volcano, the church 
of Philip and the renowned abbey connected with it were 
sold to the highest bidder. At present there remains noth- 
ing which reminds the visitor to Poissy of the former ex- 
istence of these splendid memorial buildings, except the 
font in which Louis IX. w^as baptised, and a leaden urn 
containing the heart of the pious king. 

From Poissy to Mantes, the road follows along the 
right bank of the Seine, and passes through Triel, Vaux, 
and Lleulan, picturesque towns with interesting histories, 
which, however, we did not stop to inquire about or care 
to think about. The history of our own time — of yester- 
day and to-morrow — was just then what principally con- 
cerned us. 

As we proceeded on our way, the road, shut in by the 
hills on the north, and exposed to the sun on the river side, 
grew dusty, and the glare and the heat became disagreeable 
and oppressive ; but we did not for a moment interrupt our 
journey until we were about twelve miles from Mantes, 
when it became evident that our horses needed rest. We 
stopped, therefore, at a small cabaret by the wayside, 
where we might obtain some water for our horses, and per- 
haps some refreshment for ourselves ; for Dr. Crane and I, 
at least, were beginning to feel the need of food, and were 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 321 

of the opinion that it would be prudent not to neglect any 
opportunity of getting it. 

As I was on the point of stepping from the carriage, I 
heard a certain commotion within the little wine-shop, and 
almost at the same moment saw at the door a stout, red- 
faced old woman clinging to the handle of a broom, which 
seemed to be following in the air just behind a big black 
cat that was leaping for a clump of lilac bushes near by. 
" Gros Matou! " cried the woman, as the cat escaped the 
impending consequences of doubtless some indiscreet breach 
of the etiquette of the place. This exclamation, breaking 
sharply the stillness of the brilliant September morning, 
amusingly accentuated the comic features of a rustic pic- 
ture worthy of the brush of the elder Teniers. I think it 
caused a smile to pass over the face even of Madame Le- 
breton, who was more inclined than her Majesty to consider 
our situation a sad as well as a serious one, and who had 
looked sorrowful and weary all the way. 

Getting out, I bade the woman good morning, and told 
her we wished to water our horses and rest them a little; 
I asked her if she could furnish us also with something 
to drink or to eat. 

' ' Oh, yes, ' ' she said ; " I can give you some good wine, 
such as we make here {vin du pays). Come in and try it ! " 

The doorway in which she stood opened directly into a 
room that served at the same time as kitchen, wine-shop, 
and living-room. Entering, I sat down at a rough table, 
and in a few minutes the woman had placed upon it a 
bottle of wine and some glasses, a roll of bread a couple 
of yards long, two or three kinds of cheese, a big bologna 
sausage, and a knife. The wine and bread and sausage 
proved to be really good, and Dr. Crane and I obtained here 
a very satisfactory lunch; but the Empress and Madame 
Lebreton were not disposed to leave the carriage, nor would 
it have been prudent for them to have done so. 

Madame Fontaine — that was the name of the woman — 



322 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

seemed to be greatly pleased by our appreciation of the 
things she had set before us, and told us that she and her 
husband, who was a stone-mason, owned the shop. She 
gave us also to understand that they had prospered be- 
cause they had always acted on the principle that " good 
wine needs no bush." 

Two years later, when Dr. Crane and I again stopped 
at this little wayside inn, Madame Fontaine remembered us 
very well ; but to my question as to whether she remem- 
bered the appearance of the persons who had remained in 
the carriage, she replied that she could not, for she had 
not looked into the carriage because, to use her own words, 
she thought: '^ Que c'etait un affront de regarder trop ces 
voyageurs. ' ' 

Before settling our score with this good woman, we got 
her to put up in a paper some bread and a piece of the 
bologna sausage, in case they should be desired or re- 
quired on our journey. It was rough fare, indeed, but it 
was the best we could get; and not long after we had 
set out again on our way, the Empress asked to have the 
package opened. She then broke off a piece of the bread, 
and, having eaten it, pronounced it excellent, and bor- 
rowed Dr. Crane's pocket-knife to cut off a slice of the 
sausage. Poor Madame Lebreton, however, seemed to have 
no appetite for the lunch we had bought at the wine- 
shop. She had not recovered from the shock produced by 
the events of the preceding twenty-four hours; and she 
lacked also that rarest of gifts with which the Empress 
was so richly endowed, the faculty of adapting herself, 
with the most perfect ease, simplicity, and naturalness, 
to the conditions of her immediate environment, whatever 
they might be. Sympathizing as the Empress always did 
with the common people, with admirable sincerity she 
could neither see nor feel that there was anything ignoble 
or unworthy in engaging, whenever it was necessary, in 
the rough work of the world, and bearing the burden of 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 323 

its physical discomforts and hardships. A State dinner 
or a picnic a la honne franquette, whether appearing as 
the matchless mistress of some tournament of beauty and 
courtesy at Compiegne, or riding on a camel in the Libyan 
desert, it mattered little to her, although I think she would 
at any time have preferred " roughing it " a la guerre 
comme a la guerre to any function of ceremonial display, 
not merely as a diversion, but from a romantic sense of the 
pleasure of winning victories by effort and sacrifice. 

Soon after leaving Madame Fontaine's establishment 
our road led through beautiful scenery, with wheat-fields 
and orchards and vineyards on either side, and the loveliness 
and brightness of nature about us, and the all-prevailing 
quiet contrasted strangely with the complexion of our in- 
most and constantly recurring thoughts. Everywhere there 
seemed to dwell peace and happiness. The war, the terrible 
disasters that had just befallen the nation, the great revo- 
lution which had taken place in the Government, hardly 
affected, seemingly, the light-hearted, simple life within 
and around the pretty farmhouses and cottages by the 
wayside. 

It was about eleven o 'clock when we approached Mantes, 
and as our horses could not go much farther except after 
a long rest, I decided to stop at Limay, a suburb on the 
right and opposite bank of the Seine, and to go myself on 
foot into the city in order to procure another carriage and 
fresh horses. The place where we halted was near the Rue 
Farvielle, just by the junction of the roads leading to 
Meulan and to Magny. A sign-post stood in the angle of 
the roads ; it bore on one side the inscription, ' ' Route Im- 
periale," and on the other the number 13 and the inscrip- 
tion, " a Meulan 13.5 kilometres." Over a large orna- 
mental iron gate, at our left, were inscribed Virgil's well- 
known words : 

" O fortunatos nimium sua si bona norint agri colas " 
(Oh! only two fortunate farmers — did they but know it) 



i 



THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

words that might well have expressed the thought of the 
unfortunate sovereign herself during the last stage of our 
journey, and also during the anxious hour of waiting that 
followed, near this gate, when, looking out from the car- 
riage in which she alone kept her seat, half concealed in the 
corner, she saw spread out before her in this lovely valley 
of the Seine the broad and highly cultivated fields that 
extended southward and westward to the forests, and the 
blue undulating hills in the far distance, and which lay, 
as it were, asleep in the soft sunshine — " prociil discordi- 
bus armis." 

A few minutes after having left my companions, cross- 
ing the bridge I entered Mantes la Jolie, as it was formerly 
called. The morning papers from Paris had just arrived, 
and I went to a small stationery shop in the Rue Royale 
(now called Rue Nationale), No. 25, belonging to Messrs. 
Beaumont Freres, and bought copies of the Journal Officiel 
and the Figaro, which I scanned carefully in order to see 
if they contained any paragraphs referring to the Empress ; 
but I could not discover any. It seemed that up to the 
morning of the 5th the disappearance of her Majesty had 
not been publicly noticed. This gave me some ease of mind ; 
still, it was not clear to me what steps I should take in 
order for us to continue our journey. While I was think- 
ing over this matter and walking through the streets, with- 
out knowing just what to do or where to go, I saw a harm- 
less-looking individual standing before a shop, reading a 
newspaper; and from an exclamation he gave utterance to, 
I observed that he seemed to be greatly astonished. The 
reason of his astonishment was, of course, the news of the 
Revolution in Paris and the proclamation of the Republic. 
But pretending not to have any idea of what he had found 
so startling in his paper, I approached him, and asked him 
if he would kindly let me know what important event had 
taken place, 

* ' The Republic has been proclaimed in Paris, ' ' he said, 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 325 

'' and there is great excitement there on account of the fall 
of the Empire." 

" The fall of the Empire! " I exclaimed, as if sur- 
prised. " Are you certain that the report is correct? " 

He handed me the paper, and, reading it, I pretended 
to discover news which was entirely unknown to me and 
Avhich greatly disconcerted me. 

" I must at once go back to the place from which I 
came," I said, returning to him the newspaper; " I must 
report to my friends this extraordinary announcement. 
But where shall I find a carriage? Besides, the Marquis 

de R " (I remembered that this gentleman had an 

estate near Mantes, but I had no idea where it was situated) 
' ' must know, through me, at once, what has happened, and 
I shall be greatly obliged to you if you will tell me where 
I can find a carriage to take me to his chateau." 

Thereupon the good man conducted me to the place 
where the omnibus office was situated, and told me that here, 
if anywhere, I would be able to get what I desired. 

At the office, which was in the Rue Bourgeoise, No. 36, 
I inquired if I could obtain there a four-seated carriage 
with a driver, and was told that I must wait for information 
until the return of the omnibus, which had been sent off to 
the railway station with passengers. 

I waited for about half an hour. But that half hour 
seemed a century to me ; and I did not dare to walk again 
through the streets of the town, where I was sure to attract 
notice; for in French provincial towns every stranger is 
easily recognized. 

At length becoming impatient at this detention, I asked 
to be shown into the carriage-house, wishing to see for 
myself if there was really on the premises a conveyance 
of any sort which we could make use of. To my great 
dismay, when I entered I saw at first nothing but a two- 
wheeled vehicle, which, of course, would not have suited us. 
On looking around, however, I discovered in a corner, 



326 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

partly hidden under a covering, a carriage in which four 
persons could easily travel; in fact, it would apparently 
answer our purpose perfectly, as it could be opened or 
closed as occasion might require. 

When the omnibus returned from the station I at once 
opened a conversation with the man in charge of the stable, 
by asking him if he could let me have a carriage. His 
answer quite naturally was : ' ' What kind of a carriage do 
you want, and where do you wish to got " 

I then said to him — thinking it best to tell a plain story, 
one as near the truth as was prudent — that I had started 
that morning from Paris in my own carriage with my in- 
valid sister, her doctor, and a lady companion, on the way 
to Trouville ; that we had taken this means of traveling as 
my sister preferred it to going by the railway; that we 
had proposed to make the journey by easy stages, but that, 
unfortunately, we had met with an accident just before 
reaching Mantes which would make it necessary for us to 
send our carriage back to Paris and continue our journey 
in some other way ; and that, as this occurrence had inter- 
fered with our original plans and most of the day was still 
before us, we had decided, if we could obtain another car- 
riage in Mantes, to go on to Evreux. I then said to him: 
" Can you furnish me with a conveyance suitable to take 
our party of four persons to Evreux, or to some place on 
the road where we can obtain a relay to carry us to that 
town? " 

He replied that he could not send us as far as Evreux, 
the distance, going and returning the same day, being too 
great for the horses; but that for thirty francs he would 
give me a landau, with horses and a driver, which would 
take us to Pacy, where we would have no difficulty in find- 
ing a conveyance in which to go on to Evreux, if we wished 
to do so. 

My mind was very greatly relieved when I found that 
I could get what I so much desired — the means of continu- 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 327 

ing our journey in the way we had begun it. I therefore 
accepted at once the terms of this offer, although I should 
have been still better satisfied had I known that our way 
was clear to Evreux without a break. 

The man then went with me to the carriage-house ; the 
vehicle that I had seen was pulled out, a pair of fairly good 
horses attached to it, and the driver was told to go with me 
to the place on the Paris road where we had stopped, and 
to take our party on as far as Pacy. 

A few minutes later I found myself, to my extreme 
delight, en route; and I was pleased, also, to observe that 
the " turn-out " I had secured was, taking it altogether, 
a very comfortable and decent-looking affair, even better 
suited for the business before us than the voitiire de maitre 
in which we had made the journey to Mantes, because it 
would be less likely to attract the attention of those whom 
we might meet on the way. 

After a short drive, we arrived where Celestin, with 
my carriage, was waiting. When a few rods from the 
place I told the man to stop; and going to my friends 
I explained how I had arranged matters, giving to her 
Majesty and my companions instructions how to act in 
order to prevent the new coachman seeing her Majesty's 
face. 

This done, I returned, and directed the driver to bring 
his landau up as close as possible to my own, so that the 
doors of the carriages should be exactly opposite each other. 
By this device the Empress, as well as Madame Lebreton, 
was able to take her seat by simply stepping from one car- 
riage into the other; and as the drivers were facing in 
opposite directions, neither of them was able to see the 
travelers without turning and looking back — and this they 
did not do. 

1 then gave my coachman, Celestin, orders to return 
to Paris; and having instructed the driver of our new 
conveyance to turn about and proceed on his way, passing 



328 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

through the outskirts of Mantes to the route Imperiale 
leading to Evreux, Dr. Crane and I again took our seats 
in front of the ladies. 

When, after leaving the town behind us, we had reached 
the open country, I reported to her Majesty the news I had 
obtained at Mantes : that the Republic had been proclaimed 
at the Hotel de Ville; that a Ministry had been chosen 
which included among its members Favre, Gambetta, Cre- 
mieux, Picard, and Jules Simon ; that the new Government 
was called " Le Gouvernement de la Defense Nationale "; 
that apparently it was in full possession of all of the admin- 
istrative offices, with the army behind it; " for," I added, 
" Trochu, the Military Governor of Paris, is at the head 
of the revolutionary movement." Her Majesty listened to 
me with interest while I was speaking of the revolutionary 
Government as an accomplished fact, but appeared to be 
anxious only to know who had been made Minister of the 
Interior, and who Minister of Foreign Affairs. That, the 
Imperial authority having been momentarily paralyzed by 
the action of the mob, an attempt should have been made 
by the enemies of the Empire to profit by the opportunity 
to seize the sovereign power, seemed to be something that 
she was quite prepared to hear. When, however, I an- 
nounced that the Military Governor of Paris (Trochu) had 
joined hands with the agents of the revolt and had con- 
sented to act as their chief, she manifested great astonish- 
ment, and at first refused to believe it. 

' ' No, no, ' ' she said, ' ' this cannot be so ! " Then, 
after a brief pause, she added with much feeling: " How 
could he go over to the Revolutionists, after the solemn 
declarations of loyalty and personal devotion that he made 
to me ? I cannot believe it ! " 

" But, madame, " I replied, " here is the Journal 
Offlciel, published this morning, in which there is an ac- 
count of the proceedings at the Hotel de Ville that imme- 
diately followed the invasion of the Chamber of Deputies. 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 329 

You will see," I said, as I handed the paper to her, " the 
names of the persons calling themselves the Government 
of the National Defense, and that General Trochu is the 
President of this Government." 

The Empress took the paper, and glancing over the 
list of names in the new Ministry, her eyes fell on the 
following words: 

" General Trochu, invested with full military powers 
for the national defense, has been appointed President of 
the Government. 

" For the Government of the National Defense, 
" Leon Gambetta, 

*' Minister of the Interior." 

As soon as she had read this, the paper dropped from 
her hands, and she exclaimed : 

"How was it possible for him to so betray me!" 
Then, after a few moments, she continued: " Only yes- 
terday morning, spontaneously, of his own volition, he 
pledged to me, on his honor as a soldier, on his faith as a 
Catholic and a Breton, that he would never desert me ; that 
whoever might wish to harm me, would have to pass first 
over his dead body; and those words were spoken with 
such apparent emotion that I could not suspect his sin- 
cerity. His loyalty he proudly proclaimed from the day 
he was made Governor of Paris. Shortly afterward, at a 
Council of the Ministers, when the measures to be taken to 
prevent an insurrection in Paris were brought up for dis- 
cussion. General Trochu being present, I said: ' In case 
of a revolt I do not wish you to think of me; but it is 
most important that the Corps Legislatif should be pro- 
tected.' ' Madame,' said General Trochu, addressing me 
in a voice indicative of decision and firmness, ' I pledge 
you my honor that I will protect you, and the Chamber 
of Deputies also.' Whom could I have trusted, if not him 



830 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

— a soldier selected by the Emperor himself as one espe- 
cially trustworthy, whose accepted duty it was to defend 
me, who to llic last hour swore fealty! " 

Her Majesty seemed to be (^uite overcome as she spoke. 
Her voice trembled, the tears came into lier eyes, and she 
remained silent for some time. Then, taking up the paper 
again, she read over the names of the members of the new 
Government, two or three of which evoked a smile or a 
vivacious conmient, as she repeated aloud, '' Ministre des 
Affaires Eirangeres, Jules Favre; Alinistre de I'lnterieur, 
(iiambetta." But she reverted almost immediately to 
Trochu, whose name, in her mind, seemed to stand for the 
whole Government, and to suggest the basest kind of per- 
sonal disloyalty. Nor was it so much the setting up of the 
Republic that distressed her Majesty; in fact, this appeared 
to give her very little concern. It was her discovery of the 
treachery of the soldier, the avowed friend and protector, 
in whom she had trusted, that weighed most heavily on her 
mind. It was not the loss of power that she felt, but a keen 
sense of abandonment, which for the first time had thus 
been brought home to her. And then there were others who 
also had stood very near to her; had they, too, deserted 
lier? AVith the triumph of the mob in Paris, had she lost 
everything — not only a throne, but friends, and faith in the 
honor of men? By nature generous, frank, and trustful, 
and having known in the intimacy of the Court circle only 
those who had given her every assurance of the sincerity 
of their friendship and loyalty; never having learned by 
sad experience to call in question the fidelity of her pro- 
fessed friends; never herself forgetting a favor; never 
suspecting duplicity and ingratitude in others, one can 
imagine how cruelly she must have suffered, as this horrible 
thought forced itself upon her: that many, perhaps most, 
of those professions of loyalty and love, which she had 
accepted with confidence and returned even with affection, 
were mere lip-service, the masks for personal ambitions 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 331 

seeking their own ends, without regard either to honor or 
conscience. And could she no longer rely on any one to 
help her and advise her in this hour of great need and diffi- 
culty? Was she absolutely alone? What was she to do? 
What could she do? Such were the questions, such the 
thoughts, that wrought upon her mind and caused the tears 
to fall. 

But it was not long that these shadows rested upon 
her face. After a few moments she looked up suddenly, 
and, smiling through her tears, said: " I shall soon be in 
England, and then I shall know what is to be done." And 
the thought of soon seeing again the Prince Imperial, and 
perhaps the Emperor, quickly dispelled all traces of sor- 
row, and she talked with hope and confidence of the future. 
Although occasionally, during this day and the following 
days, she alluded to the treachery of Trochu, it was with 
no further manifestation of feeling, except one of contempt. 

Indeed, the Empress did not at this time fully appre- 
hend the political consequences of the Revolution. It was 
not possible then for any one to do so, much less for her, 
with an imperfect knowledge of the situation as it existed 
in Paris, of the sentiment of the French nation, and of the 
policy of the King of Prussia. She knew that the Empire, 
the French army, and France had met with a series of 
terrible disasters, and believed that the war with Germany 
had practically come to an end at Sedan ; but she did not 
seem to think that the Republic proclaimed in Paris was 
a necessary, or even a probable, final, and substantial eon- 
sequence of these events. She doubted very much if the 
King of Prussia would be willing to treat with a Govern- 
ment which was the product of a street riot, and the exist- 
ence and acts of which were without the sanction of the 
French people. Furthermore, it remained to be seen how 
the announcement of this new Government would be re- 
ceived by the army that was under the command of Bazaine. 

Certainly it was not likely that a self-constituted Gov- 



THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

ernment of Radical Republicans, acting without legitimate 
authority and absolutely irresponsible, even if recognized by 
the King and his Councilors, could obtain a treaty of peace 
except on terms humiliating to the last degree to the 
amour propre of the French nation. She presumed that the 
King of Prussia would be willing to conclude a peace with 
the Imperial Government on conditions that might be ac- 
cepted with honor. She thought that an effort should be 
made at once to obtain peace on such conditions. France 
was not prepared for this war; a great mistake had been 
made; it should be frankly recognized by all, and the 
damage repaired to the fullest extent possible. And the 
Imperial Government, in her opinion, would be far better 
able than any other to secure peace upon favorable terms, 
and to mitigate the consequences of the existing military 
situation. But if such was her opinion, she made it clearly 
understood that she was speaking not for herself, nor 
for the djmasty, but in the interest of the French peo- 
ple. " I had," she said, " a thousand times rather aban- 
don every attribute of the sovereign and every dynastic 
claim, than feel that such claims were an obstacle to an 
honorable peace and the permanent prosperity of France. 
Oh," she continued, " why could not the people of Paris 
allow me to remain with them? The German army is re- 
ported to be marching on to Paris. How happy I should 
be, could I have the privilege of defending — could I but 
save — the city that for me possesses so many delightful 
souvenirs, for the sake of the people in it, whom I have 
so dearly loved ! ' ' 

And here I should say, since I have spoken of the sense 
of abandonment and desertion which for a moment seemed 
to crush and overwhelm her, that it was only the broken 
heart of the woman that found relief in silence and in tears 
— broken by feeling the cruel injustice with which she had 
been treated by those to whom she had dedicated her life 
and in whom she had implicitly confided. But never once 




PACY-SUR-EUEE— A CHANGE OF CONVEYANCES. 



I 



i 



FLIGHT OF THE EMPRESS 333 

did she exhibit the slightest indication of fear, or any sense 
of danger to herself personally. Whatever had happened 
or might come to pass, her soul remained unconquered and 
unconquerable. When, as the hours passed during this day, 
the possibility of certain eventualities came to her mind, 
it did not disquiet her, except it were the thought of a 
civil war. This she shrank from; this she never would 
listen to. 

But as Regent still — de jure — she was as fearless and 
heroic as she was prudent. Peace should be sought, and 
any honorable terms promptly accepted. But were the 
Germans to consent to make peace only on such terms as 
a great and brave and independent people could not with 
honor accept, then let the war go on. Never would she 
give her consent to an ignoble peace. Were insolent and 
humiliating conditions exacted, then the nation should 
make a supreme effort to drive the invader from its terri- 
tory. Forms of government and dynasties should be for- 
gotten, and parties disappear, melted in the glow of an 
ardent patriotism. 

It was not in her thought to stand in the way of the 
national defense. No personal sacrifice could be too com- 
plete in order to effect this object. " I am willing to 
forget everything, and to forgive all my enemies, if they 
will only find a way to save the honor of the nation. Oh," 
said she, " should the occasion ever come, how I should 
like to show to the world the joy with which I can suffer 
and endure ! ' ' 

Her words were noble and magnanimous — those of a 
self-forgetting heroine, ready to immolate herself at the 
call of duty — while with passionate eloquence she pro- 
claimed her undying devotion to France. No Orleans 
Maid was ever inspired by a loftier or more fervent love 
of her country, or showed a braver spirit, or expressed a 
more unfaltering purpose to sacrifice herself, if need be, 
to save her people. If Fortune, less kind to her than to 
23 



THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

others, did not give her the opportunity to realize all her 
dreams of glorious doing, it was through no fault of hers. 
God had bestowed on her every quality, both of head and 
heart, for such a part. To save France from the humilia- 
tion of conquest, and the army from the dishonor of defeat, 
this was the principal theme of her discourse, and the sub- 
ject that was uppermost in the Empress' thought until she 
reached England. 




CHAPTER XII 

ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 

Pacy-sur-Eure — A change of conveyances — The "outfit" — A pro- 
fessional opinion — Evreux — "Vive la Republique" — A tragic story 
— La Commanderie — Horses but no carriage — An accident — La 
Riviere de Thibouville — A serious question — "Le Soleil d'Or" — 
Diplomacy — "Too funny for anything!" — French peasants — A 
night alarm — Madame Desrats and her "cabriolet" — "My carriage 
is at your disposal" — A railway trip — A miserable morning — I 
go for a carriage — A polite clerk — A striking contrast — The last 
stage of our journey — Pont I'Eveque — Another coincidence. 

!T was about two o'clock when we came to the 
little hamlet of Pacy-sur-Eure, and drove into 
the yard of a house, the owner of which, a cer- 
tain Madame Everard, our driver had informed 
us, could furnish us with a carriage and a pair of horses. 
" And if you cannot get a carriage there," he added, " I 
don 't think you can find one in the place. ' ' There was an 
uncertainty about this information that was rather dis- 
quieting; and our disquietude was increased on learning 
that there was no inn to which we could go, excepting one 
near the railway station; in fact, that Pacy was a rustic, 
shabby place, impossible to remain in, yet one it might not 
be easy to get out of. 

We had scarcely stopped, when an elderly country- 
woman came forward and stood in the doorway of the 
house. Without leaving my seat, I called out to her, ask- 
ing if we could get here a carriage and horses to take us on 
to Evreux, or beyond. She replied that she had a carriage, 
but only one horse. After some further inquiry, she said 

335 



THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

there was a horse then working in a neighboring field 
which might perhaps go with the one she had ; but that it 
was a much smaller horse, and the two had never been 
harnessed together. We told her to make up the team, and 
we would see if it would answer our purpose. 

A boy was then sent oifif to fetch the horse from the 
field. We all alighted now, and the ladies went into the 
house; although they would have very much preferred to 
remain in the carriage, could they have done so. 

The principal room — the general reception-room, it 
might be called — on the ground floor of this house, was 
roughly furnished, anything but clean, and infested with 
flies. In an adjoining room groceries were kept for sale. 
The flies were the only customers while we were there. 

After waiting a long time, the boy returned with the 
horse — and such a horse ! We were not surprised that the 
old woman had hesitated to mention it to us. However, it 
was Hobson's choice. We could take it or leave it. And 
we took it — hoping that the horse in the stable, which we 
had already seen, and which was a fairly good one, would 
be able to pull us through. 

But the carriage — when it was dragged out from under 
the shed, where it had probably reposed most of the time 
since the introduction of railways in France — was a wonder 
indeed. I really do not know how to describe it. It was 
a four-wheeled, four-seated, two-horse, closed vehicle, but 
with large, very large, glass windows at the sides and in 
front. The leather covering was rusty, and cracked, and 
creased; and the blue lining on the inside faded, ragged, 
and dirty. It had a green body and yellow wheels. The 
body was shallow, and the front seat low. The wheels 
were ramshackle and of questionable solidity. It was once, 
perhaps, what may have been called a " calash "; but it 
had been worn, and torn, and broken, and painted, and 
patched, and mended, and nailed together, and tied up, 
until one might have called it anything he liked. A very 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 337 

appropriate name would have been the " Immortal " — one 
given by Sydney Smith to his ancient chariot at which, 
whenever they saw it, all the village boys cheered and all 
the village dogs barked. 

When our two horses, the big one and the little one, the 
gray mare and the chestnut horse, were matched and har- 
nessed to this carriage, and all the necessary strings and 
ropes had been attached to the harness, the ' ' outfit ' ' closely 
resembled one of those perambulating conveyances occa- 
sionally met with in the byways of France, the property of 
some family of prosperous gipsies. It was in this vehicle, 
with M. Ernest Everard for driver, that we continued our 
journey, after a stop at Pacy lasting quite an hour. 

During this time not a person came near us, and the 
Everards had certainly not the least suspicion that we were 
other than what they had at first taken us to be, " des 
AmSricains/' or '^ dcs milords Anglais," traveling for our 
pleasure. 

It was with some difficulty that we succeeded in helping 
her Majesty and Madame Lebreton into this carriage; and 
Dr. Crane having got in I — seeing it was too small to carry 
four persons inside comfortably — took a seat by the side 
of the driver, thinking also that I might have a little talk 
with him and see and hear something of the country; but 
while we jogged along over a road as smooth as a floor, like 
all the great highways of France, our carriage so rattled 
and creaked that it was often quite difficult to hear what 
was said, and painful even to speak. The air, however, 
was delicious, and the wide stretches of cultivated country 
through which we were traveling furnished an ever-chan- 
ging and pleasing prospect. 

Nevertheless, there were moments during my enforced 
silence when not a soul was to be seen on the long straight 
white road, and the absence of all life and movement in the 
landscape, sharply defined in the bright sunlight, produced 
in me a strange sense of the unreality of this enchanting 



338 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

and very peaceful visible world. I could not understand 
how such great events in human affairs as had happened, 
only the day before, could have occurred without leaving a 
trace of disturbance upon the face of things, so near and 
so closely related to them. There was a mystery, something 
uncanny even about it all. It seemed to me that what I 
saw with my eyes had no history — was an appearance with- 
out substance ; that this peace of things was an illusion and 
a mockery; and that my own thoughts and emotions and 
the rattling of the green body and the yellow wheels of the 
calash were the only realities I was certain about and which 
immediately concerned me; for I felt it was these that 
bound me as with bands of steel to an invisible but real 
world of Revolution, violence, and peril, from which I was 
striving, perhaps vainly, to make ray escape. 

Occasionally, on coming to some long ascent among the 
chalk hills that form the solid framework of Normandy, and 
give to this land its picturesque outlines, Dr. Crane and I 
got down and walked on ahead of the carriage, which fol- 
lowed slowly after. And sometimes, too, our conversation 
drifted far away from the subjects of our immediate 
interest. It certainly did in one instance that I well re- 
member. As our road wound its way up by the side of 
a deep, white cutting, the geological history of the so-called 
Rouen chalk- formation having been referred to by the 
doctor, he went on to speak of the immense extent and 
power of life in the sea ; and finally remarked that Nature 
seemed to be so determined to accomplish what she pro- 
posed to do Avhen she set to work about it, that she was 
apparently very apt to largely overdo it. To which I re- 
plied that I did not know whether his generalization was 
really justified by the facts or not, but that I was quite 
willing to admit — speaking professionally — that the stock 
of tooth-powder she had so carefully prepared and stored 
up in these hills did seem to me to be prodigiously in excess 
of any possible necessity or any probable demand. I do 




2" 

:^ 

> 

I— I 

1-1 

o 



ON TPIE ROAD TO THE COAST 339 

not recollect the doctor's reply; perhaps the carriage just 
then overtook us, and we were both suddenly reminded 
of the serious business we were at the time engaged in, and 
of our responsibilities. I shall never forget, however, his 
look of surprise at what he doubtless thought was a highly 
indiscreet and unprofessional admission. 

We were now approaching Evreux, a large town with 
a population of nearly twenty thousand souls; and we 
feared there might be some popular manifestation in prog- 
ress in the place, which we could not well avoid, and that 
the rather outlandish appearance of our equipage might 
make us the objects of a disagreeable, if not dangerous, 
curiosity. We accordingly directed our driver to pass 
through the town without stopping, and to rest his horses, 
if necessary, in the suburbs. This he did; although, on 
entering it, we found the place perfectly quiet — as dead, 
I may say, as a French provincial town usually is, the 
inhabitants of which rarely show signs of life except at a 
fair or a fire. We learned afterward that the Mayor had 
read a proclamation, and that a review of the Gardes Mo- 
biles had been held in the market-place not long before we 
arrived. 

It was about five o 'clock when we came to a place called 
Cambolle, situated hardly more than half a mile beyond 
Evreux, on the road to Lisieux. There, in the Avenue de 
Cambolle, which was lined with beautiful elm-trees, we 
saw, in the shadow of the foliage, a small wine-shop called 
the " Cafe Cantilope "; and our driver now insisted upon 
making a halt, in order to feed and water the horses. We 
therefore stopped here, our carriage standing almost in the 
middle of the road. Availing myself of the opportunity, 
I got down from my seat, and after walking about for a 
few minutes, went into the cafe. While Madame Canti- 
lope and her husband, the proprietor of the shop, were 
serving me, I heard a vague, confused sound outside, which 
gradually became more and more distinct, and the cause 



340 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

of which appeared to be approaching. I listened anxiously, 
for the noise was like that produced by a great number of 
human voices; and under the circumstances the presence 
of a crowd, whoever they might be, was very undesirable. 

Nearer and nearer came the sounds; and soon, to my 
horror, I heard very plainly the cries, " Vive la France! " 
^' Vive la Repuhlique! " repeated by a hundred voices, 
while at the same time I recognized the notes of the 
*' Marseillaise." My companions, whom I at once rejoined, 
thought, perhaps, that our departure from Paris had be- 
came known and that we were pursued. None of us spoke 
a word, but from the expression on the faces of the ladies 
it was plainly perceptible that they were very uncomfort- 
able. 

Only for a few minutes, fortunately, did this state of 
trepidation last. Great was our relief when we found that 
our fear was groundless. The noisy persons who had given 
us so much uneasiness were only companies of Gardes 
Mobiles, who, returning from the review in Evreux, were 
going to some neighboring village. Several wagons full of 
them passed us while we were stopping here, and full 
themselves of wine and new-born patriotism, they lifted 
their hats and saluted us, with exclamations of " Vive la 
Repuhlique! " 

But was our fear groundless? More than once during 
the day we had been reminded that history was repeating 
itself, by a member of our party who was well acquainted 
with the history of France, and who knew by heart the 
tragic story of Marie Antoinette. 

She could not have forgotten that this unhappy Queen 
also fled from the Tuileries ; and that, disguised, and in the 
darkness of the night eluding the sentries, she, with the 
King, and their children, and Madame Elizabeth, having 
squeezed themselves into an old coach that was waiting for 
them in the Place du Carrousel, were then driven through 
the Clichy gate to Bondy; and that, after changing car- 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 341 

riages, they continued on their way, embracing each other 
with tears of joy, happy to feel and to think, in the light 
of the splendid June morning, that they had escaped from 
their ignoble persecutors; and how all went well with the 
royal family until they had gone some eighty miles — just 
about as far from Paris to the east as we then were to the 
west — when the son of a postmaster, recognizing the King, 
determined to have him arrested ; and that overhearing the 
order given to the postilions to drive on to Varennes, he 
sprang upon a horse, and riding furiously in advance, in- 
formed the Procureur of the Commune of the King's flight; 
and how, on the arrival of the royal party late at night at 
Varennes, they were arrested. Nor could she have forgot- 
ten how, a day or two afterward, they were all packed into 
the same coach again, and, escorted by a detachment of the 
National Guard, were taken back to Paris, arriving at the 
'bm-riere de VEtoile after twelve hours of continuous travel, 
and forced to keep their seats in a closed carriage, on one of 
the hottest days of the year; nor that, when near the end 
of this terrible journey, exhausted by fatigue and overcome 
by the heat, the poor mother, wiping the perspiration from 
the forehead of the little dauphin, said to one of her guards : 
" See the condition my children are in — they are suffo- 
cating," she received the brutal answer, " "We will suffo- 
cate you in another way ' ' ; nor how, between a double 
row of National Guards, the carriage proceeded down the 
Champs Elysees, the immense crowd gathered together 
on either side of the way jeering and hooting, and insulting 
the Queen — ^the " Autrichienne " — in every possible way, 
until, turning into the Garden of the Tuileries, it stopped 
before the Pavilion de I'Horloge, and Louis XVI. and 
Marie Antoinette entered the palace as prisoners of State. 
And afterward — that scene on the Place de la Concorde, 
where the Obelisk now stands! Was my fear groundless? 
Had not the Empress reason to be alarmed? 

From Cambolle our road went through a beautiful 



342 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

stretch of country, the hills on the right side of the way 
being covered with rich vegetation, while on the left fertile 
meadows extended far into the distance. 

The sun was now sinking, and the approach of evening 
was indicated by the lengthening shadows of the elm-trees. 
The poor horses, which had kept up so far notwithstanding 
the long drive and the hard labor that had been exacted 
from one of them before it was put in front of our calash, 
began to show signs of exhaustion ; and M. Ernest Everard 
told me that he could not drive us beyond La Command- 
erie, a small village on the road, where we might have a 
chance to get a fresh pair of horses, for his would not be 
able to go any farther. 

We reached La Commanderie just before sunset, and 
drove into the yard of the old post-house, on the left-hand 
side of the route Imperiale. The owner was a rich, well- 
to-do farmer, who took more pride, however, in his fine 
cattle and large and well-filled barns than in the appear- 
ance of the house he lived in and that of the yard behind 
it. As several years before he had given up the business of 
furnishing relays of horses to travelers, we had some diffi- 
culty in getting him to consent to take us on to the next 
station. La Riviere de Thibouville. It is quite likely that 
he may have suspected we were fugitives of some sort — we 
were so anxious to proceed. He had a pair of fine horses, 
he said, and would be glad to accommodate us, but he had 
no carriage. We succeeded, however, in disposing of this 
difficulty, by persuading, by means of a substantial gratu- 
ity, the man who had brought us from Pacy to lend us his 
carriage. As the farmer had no longer a plausible excuse, 
and had been stimulated into taking an interest in execu- 
ting our wishes by the prospect of an ample reward for his 
services, he at last consented to drive us to the next station. 

Having settled this matter. Dr. Crane and I went to a 
wine-shop across the way, and a piece of bread and cheese 
with a bottle of sour wine we obtained there seemed to us a 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 343 

royal lunch indeed. Madame Lebreton, in the meantime, 
succeeded in getting some coffee made in the kitchen of the 
post-house for the Empress and herself. The Empress, 
however, did not leave the carriage, but kept her seat, 
while we were doing our talking or trying to get something 
to eat, and the horses were being changed. 

We remained here more than an hour, and it had become 
quite dark before we started on our way again. We had 
not gone very far, however, before an accident occurred. 
The rickety old calash was not strong enough to resist the 
pull of our fresh, vigorous Norman horses; and so it came 
to pass that, as we were rolling along at a rattling rate, 
crack ! went a whififletree, and we were brought suddenly 
to a standstill, with the traces dangling about the heels of 
one of the horses. Our driver now wanted to go back. He 
said he could not go on ; that he could not repair the break 
where we were, for he could not see to do it, and had noth- 
ing to do it with, and did not know how to do it, and so 
forth. In all of which discourse the only thing made quite 
certain was that he did not wish to proceed any farther. 
He seemed, in fact, rather too anxious to have us return 
to the old post-house and spend the night with him. 

Beginning to suspect the man had in mind some dark 
design — that perhaps this accident entered into his scheme 
— Dr. Crane and I got down to investigate the case and find 
out for ourselves what had really happened, and what could 
or could not be done in the way of repairs. We soon dis- 
covered that if we only had a piece of rope, or some twine, 
we could so fasten the traces as to be able to continue on 
our way. But where were we to get either ? We were half 
a mile from any house. What was to be done ? The driver, 
the prosperous owner of the horses, insisted on returning. 
But this we were determined not to do if we could prevent 
it. Noticing that there was a box under the front seat, we 
opened it, and, as luck would have it, found there just what 
we wanted — a piece of cord, an old halter I think it was, 



344 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE I 

eight or ten feet long. With this we lashed the whiffletree 
firmly to the cross-bar. Then, taking my seat by the side of 
the driver, off we started again. This accident delayed us 
about half an hour. Wliile riding with the driver, I had 
with him sufficient conversation to convince me that my 
suspicions with regard to his motive when advising us to 
return to the post-house were not well-founded. I am now 
quite sure that he gave us what, from his point of view, 
was very sensible advice, and what, perhaps, ought to 
have been considered at the time as sensible advice from 
any point of view. 

It was nearly ten o'clock when we arrived at La Ri- 
viere de Thibouville, a town in the valley of the Risle, 
about a hundred miles from Paris. We stopped on the 
outskirts of the hamlet, in front of an auberge, or small 
tavern, on our left, and at the foot of a pine-clad slope, 
down which the road descends into the valley. Alighting 
from the carriage, I approached the house, and the door 
standing wide open, I saw, within, a large room where a 
bright fire was blazing in a big fireplace at the right. Over 
the fire some pots and kettles were hanging on long hooks, 
and attending to them were one or two women. On enter- 
ing this room I saw in an adjoining one several men, ap- 
parently of the peasant class, seated at a rough table, eating 
and drinking. But I had little time to notice, and still 
less to appreciate, the rusticity of the place, for almost 
immediately the proprietress of the establishment — Madame 
Desrats, a rather corpulent, light-complexioned woman of 
about forty — came forward to learn what was wanted by 
us, the newcomers. 

I told her that we wished to get a conveyance to take 
us, a party of four, on to Lisieux that night. Her reply 
was that no carriage of the kind we required could be ob- 
tained in the place for such a journey; nor could such a 
carriage be got without sending to Bernay for it, a town 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 345 

ten miles distant. This information I was wholly unpre- 
pared for, and I was much disturbed by it, as it greatly 
interfered with our plans. Evidently we had come to the 
end of our day's journey, and it would be necessary for us 
to pass the night where we were. How we were going to 
do this soon became a very serious question, since Madame 
Desrats, on further inquiry, informed me that she could 
not furnish us with lodgings, for every room in the house 
was occupied. She was very sorry, she said, and the more 
so because she was sure there was no other place in the 
village where we could find accommodation for the night. 
As the man who had brought us must return to La Com- 
manderie after resting his horses, it seemed for a time as 
if, at the end of a fatiguing carriage journey of nearly a 
hundred miles, we were to be left, late in the night, under 
the stars, in the middle of the road. But I have observed 
that pretty nearly everywhere in the world it is possible 
to obtain the cooperation of others when it may be required ; 
in fact, what is wanted, if one only sets about it in the 
right way and employs the right means, and especially 
sufficient means. 

This rude hostelry in the suburbs of La Riviere, as I 
afterward discovered, was a small, long, low, stuccoed 
house, behind which was a dirty yard, shut in by a number 
of ill-conditioned outbuildings. Over the front doorway 
hung and swung a rather large sign-board, on which had 
been painted the now faded image of the sun, the original 
appearance of which was presumed to be represented by 
the words inscribed on the sign, " Le Soleil d'Or." As 
I have already stated, the front door opened directly from 
the street into the principal apartment, which served the 
double purpose of parlor and kitchen. Beyond this, to 
the right, there was a public room or kind of bar, where 
wine and beer, and other drinks, were dispensed, princi- 
pally to passing teamsters and laborers in the neighboring 
fields. On the left, a door opened into a small room used 



346 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

as a private dining-room; near this door was another, at 
the foot of a flight of stairs leading to the floor above. On 
this upper floor there were three or four chambers ; one was 
over the dining-room just mentioned; and there was an- 
other, to the right, beyond the kitchen, and over a passage- 
way that led into the court-yard in the rear. These two 
chambers were the only ones let to lodgers, and they had 
both just been taken, as we learned, by an English coach- 
man and his family, who, on their way to Trouville, had 
stopped here for the night. 

Finding Madame Desrats's accommodations for addi- 
tional guests were so limited that she was really unable to 
do anything more than to extemporize for us some beds on 
the floor, either above or below — which she offered to do — 
I asked to see the coachman, who had already gone to his 
room. 

He came down soon, and I laid our case before him. I 
told him I was taking my sister, who was an invalid, to 
the seaside; that she was attended by her physician and 
a nurse ; that we were disappointed on reaching this place 
at not being able to continue our journey to Lisieux, where 
we had intended to pass the night ; that we should be com- 
pelled to stay here; that my sister's present and most dis- 
tressing situation was causing me intense anxiety; that we 
were informed he had engaged the only sleeping-rooms in 
the house ; and, finally, that we were willing to pay a round 
sum for the use, for this one night, of the rooms in question. 
The man ' ' executed himself, ' ' as the French say, promptly 
and very graciously ; for he assured me, while accepting his 
compensation, that he was induced to give up the rooms 
by a feeling of the deepest sympathy for " the poor lady " 
in the carriage. However this may have been, we got what 
we wanted, and it was not long before the chamber over 
the passageway was made ready for the Empress and 
Madame Lebreton. 

Dr. Crane and I then proceeded to assist the invalid to 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 347 

descend from the calash, which having been effected with 
no little difficulty, she took Dr. Crane's arm and walked to 
the door, slightly limping, I going before and Madame 
Lebreton following. In this order we entered the public 
room, in which there were at the time several persons, some 
drinking and some at work. Screening the Empress from 
observation as much as possible, I opened the door of the 
staircase, which Dr. Crane and his patient ascended slowly 
and with some difficulty — not simulated this time, for it 
was dark and the steps were very narrow and very steep. 
On reaching the chamber selected for her, the Empress 
dropped into a chair, and, surveying the room and its rough, 
scanty contents with a rapid glance, burst out laughing. 
She made no attempt to suppress this eclat. I do not think 
she could help it. She did not even try to excuse it ; unless 
the remark made by her, which an American girl might 
translate, " This is really too funny for anything! " be 
considered as an excuse. 

" Oh, mon Dieu! mon Dieu, madame! " exclaimed 
Madame Lebreton as she stepped into the room, " how 
can you laugh in this sad situation? Mon Dieu! mon Dieu! 
And everybody is watching us, and there are people in the 
next room who may overhear you ! ' ' — and doubtless did, 
for that matter, as the partition, and the door separating 
the rooms, were of the flimsiest construction. " I beg you, 
madame, not to laugh — not to speak, even, lest we betray 
ourselves. And after you have had some supper, which has 
been ordered, you must rest, for you are very nervous after 
this awful journey! " The Empress recognized that she 
had, perhaps, been a little imprudent in yielding to an emo- 
tional impulse, and in an amiable spirit of contrition, I 
have no doubt, would now have been perfectly willing, could 
it have helped matters in the least, to try to look as solemn, 
and take as serious a view of the situation, as did Madame 
Lebreton herself. 

Dr. Crane and I now returned to the kitchen, and 



THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

ordered a dinner to be served to us in the private dining- 
room. 

While this dinner was being prepared, we looked about 
the place, studied the people, overheard their talk, and even 
entered into conversation with them. They seemed to be 
strangely indifferent to the great military and political 
events of the preceding week. The crops, the weather, 
their own private affairs, were what chiefly concerned them. 
They appeared to care very little even to know what 
was going on in Paris, except as it might favor or prej- 
udice their personal interests. They were representative 
French country people, thrifty but earthy. Among them 
was the man who drove us over from La Commanderie, and 
who had told me, while on the way, that he was worth two 
hundred thousand francs. This property he had acquired 
by forty years' hard labor, with pinching economy — an 
economy that would amaze a New England farmer. He 
had but one object in life, and that was to make money. 
Yes, he had another and a more worthy one : it was to pro- 
vide a dot — a marriage-portion — for his daughter. It 
was not the money itself that he wanted; it was the use 
to which it was to be put that made it desirable to him, and 
for which he was willing to toil, and live poorly, and to 
hoard. And it is this strong desire which most French- 
men have to look after the future of the family, and to 
provide more particularly for its dependent members, that 
ennobles the parsimony of these peasants, and elevates the 
thrift of the common people of France to the dignity of 
a national virtue. 

Our dinner was excellent, and so was the sauce — the 
appetite — that went with it, for we had had really noth- 
ing to eat but bits of bread for more than twenty-four 
hours. We sat for a while over our coffee and cigars, 
talking of the incidents of the day and the contingencies 
of the morrow. It was one o'clock before we went up 
to our room. An hour or two later, when we both were 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 349 

sound asleep, we were aroused by a great racket outside 
— the clatter of horses' hoofs, followed by loud talking, 
and, finally, by pounding on the door almost directly under 
our window. Our first thought was that the escape of the 
Empress from Paris had been discovered, that an order 
had been issued to arrest her, and that a squad of gen- 
darmes had ridden up here to execute the order. We 
opened our window very carefully, and cautiously peeped 
out. But the night was dark, and we could not see the 
mounted men with sufficient distinctness to tell who or 
what they were. Indeed, it was some time before we 
learned from the words passing between them, which we 
overheard, that they were not searching for us. As this 
was all we cared to know about them at the moment, we 
went back to bed and slept soundly till morning. We then 
were told that the party that had disturbed us in the night 
were some gamekeepers who had been scouring the neigh- 
borhood looking for poachers. 

Dr. Crane and I got up early, as we wished to send to 
Bernay for a carriage. When we spoke to our hostess about 
this, she stared at us, and seemed to think it was a very 
singular thing to do — to send some one ten miles away to 
find a carriage, when it would be so much easier for us to 
go to Trouville by the railway, and the station was only 
a mile off. I think she would have thought we were all 
mad, had she not believed we were English — " et les An- 
glais sont tellement drolcs." We tried to explain to her 
that the lady with us was ill, that she disliked very much 
to travel by railways, and that it would be as impossible 
for her to walk one mile as ten. To this she replied that 
she did not see why the lady might not be taken to the 
station in the cabriolet ; the rest of us could certainly walk. 

The cabriolet referred to by IMadame Desrats was a 
two-wheeled, high-seated, gig-like contrivance in the back 
yard, an inspection of which at once suggested to me the 
probable appearance of the deacon's " wonderful one-hoss 

24 



850 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

shay," at the critical period of its existence — its grand 
climacteric, so to speak — when it was in a state of equiva- 
lent decay in each of its several parts and articulations; 
and its complete collapse into disjecta membra and dust 
might reasonably be expected at any moment. Taking it 
altogether as it stood, this cabriolet was a curiosity quite 
worthy of a place in a museum of vehicular antiquities. 

While we were considering what we should do, rain 
began to fall, and with every appearance of continuing for 
some time. 

We were reluctant to make use of the railway; but it 
would take some hours to bring a carriage from Bernay, 
and we were anxious to proceed on our way without delay. 

La Riviere is on a branch railway connecting the Paris- 
Havre with the Paris-Cherbourg line at Serquigny, a sta- 
tion less than three miles distant. Lisieux, the chief town 
in the department of Calvados, is on the Paris- Cherbourg 
railway, fifteen miles west of this junction. There we 
could get a carriage to take us to our destination — Deau- 
ville, about eighteen miles beyond. We found that, by 
taking a train due at La Riviere at five minutes past eight 
o'clock, we could meet the Paris- Cherbourg express at 
Serquigny a few minutes later, and reach Lisieux at twenty 
minutes past nine o 'clock. An hour by railway would help 
us forward greatly, and we concluded that we would accept 
the additional risk of discovery it might involve, rather 
than be kept waiting at La Riviere. But how was the 
Empress to get to the railway station ? We had rejected the 
vehicle proposed by our hostess, for, if not absolutely dan- 
gerous, its oddity would attract too much attention. The 
Empress had certainly better walk; and she could do this 
perfectly well, but for the invalidism upon which we had 
been laying such stress. We had about made up our 
minds to discover that our patient, to our surprise and 
great delight, had so wonderfully improved during the 
night as to feel confident she could walk to the station, 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 351 

going slowly and with a little help, when a carriage drove 
up before the door of the auberge. A gentleman got out, 
and, coming into the house, sat down near the fire while his 
horses were resting. He had left Bernay that morning. 
I noticed he was alone, and that his carriage, a closed one, 
was large enough to carry our party easily. I thought it 
might be worth my while to make the acquaintance of this 
man. And so, in a very unsophisticated sort of way, I 
fell into conversation with him. I found him an amiable, 
very intelligent, and extremely interesting man. We spoke 
of many things, but agreed in everything. I myself, quite 
naturally, was in a most agreeable mood. After a while I 
mustered up sufficient courage to repeat to him the story 
of the invalid sister, which had proved to be an " open 
sesame " all along the road, and to remark, quite inci- 
dentally, that as we could get no carriage to take us to 
the railwaj^ station I greatly feared the walk might over- 
tax " my sister's " strength. 

' ' Oh, ' ' said he, ' ' my carriage is quite at your disposal. 
I shall be most happy to be of service to the lady. It is 
really too far to the railway station for a lady who is ill or 
an invalid to think of walking, and especially when it is 
raining, as it now does. ' ' 

I thanked my new acquaintance effusively for his gen- 
erous offer, which of course I could not decline. Greatly 
relieved in mind, I immediately reported to the Empress 
and Madame Lebreton that we had found it necessary to go 
to Lisieux by the railway; and also that a carriage was at 
the door to take them to the La Riviere station, as soon as 
they could get ready to go. In a very few minutes the 
Empress descended the stairs, assisted by Madame Lebreton, 
but walking with much less difficulty than on the evening 
before. 

I observed that the persons in the public room through 
which the Empress passed had the courtesy to show no curi- 
osity to see her, or to watch our movements while we aided 



352 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

her to get into the carriage. The gentleman himself who 
had offered us the use of his carriage, with admirable dis- 
cretion, perhaps out of sympathy for the invalid, also kept 
at a respectful distance. Having thanked him again, and 
especially expressed my gratitude on behalf of " my sis- 
ter, ' ' I mounted upon the seat by the side of his coachman, 
and we drove off so suddenly that I fear the kind-hearted 
and obliging stranger must have taken her Majesty for a 
very impatient patient. 

We reached the station some time before the train was 
due, and were the only persons there, except the station- 
master and a ticket-agent. When the train arrived we took 
our seats in a compartment which we saw was vacant, and 
congratulated ourselves upon our good fortune. But as 
the " chef de Gare," passing along, opened the door of the 
carriage, and, after looking in, shut it with a bang, the 
Empress observed on his hard face a malicious smile and a 
leer which alarmed her. She felt certain she had been 
recognized. I did not notice the incident, nor did the 
Empress allude to it when it occurred, although it certainly 
produced a deep impression upon her mind at the time ; for 
when, more than twenty years afterward, she related to me 
the incident, she said, " I shall always remember the look 
that man gave me." 

We arrived at Serquigny just as the Paris express 
reached the junction. I hurried across the platform, and 
asked the guard to give my party seats where we could 
be by ourselves, intimating that the arrangement, if it could 
be made, might prove as pleasing to him as to us. He 
walked down the platform a short distance, threw open a 
door in one of the carriages, and said to me, " You can 
have these." As I slipped some money into his hand, he 
informed me that we would not be disturbed, since Lisieux 
was the next stopping-place. 

On arriving at Lisieux, we found quite a number of 
people in and about the railway station, and omnibuses and 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 353 

carriages were standing there, ready to convey passengers 
to the hotels or other places in the to\vn. We could make 
no use of these conveyances, as we wished to avoid coming 
in contact with people whenever it was possible to do so. 
We therefore, on getting off the train, left the station at 
once on foot. 

It w^as raining, and we had no umbrellas. The morn- 
ing proved to be gloomy, miserable, and stormy. After 
walking some distance, I said : " It is unnecessary for us all 
to go into the town. Let me go on alone. I will find a 
livery-stable and get a carriage, and come back and pick 
you up." 

Thereupon I left the party, and hurried forward in 
search of a conveyance to take us to Deauville. I had to 
walk very far before I came into any streets that looked 
as if I might obtain in them what I wanted. I called at 
half a dozen places in vain, and had nearly given up all 
hope, when at length I found a person who, after some per- 
suasion, principally in the form of a promised payment 
considerably above the usual rate, agreed to drive us to 
Deauville. The time during which he was preparing his 
horses seemed to me endless, when I thought of those who 
were waiting for me; but notwithstanding my efforts to 
have him make haste, the man did not change his phleg- 
matic manner in the least, and I had to wait until he 
announced that he was ready to go. 

In the meantime, the Empress, Madame Lebreton, and 
Dr. Crane had followed me slowly, until it began to rain 
very heavily when they stepped in under the porte 
cochere, or entrance, of an establishment where carpets 
were made, on the left-hand side of the street. Here they 
remained a long time; the Empress standing in the door- 
way, scarcely out of reach of the dripping from the build- 
ing, and Madame Lebreton partly sitting on and partly 
leaning against a bale of wool in the passage beyond. After 
they had been there a few minutes, a young man, an em- 



354 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

ployee, came out of the establishment with a chair, which 
he offered to the Empress, saying, " Perhaps the lady 
would like to sit down. ' ' The Empress declined to take the 
chair, with thanks; as also did Madame Lebreton on the 
chair being offered to her. Madame Lebreton, however, not 
only expressed her appreciation of the courtesy, but added, 
" We are waiting for a carriage we expect here every mo- 
ment, and feel under obligations to you already for the 
liberty we have taken in entering within your doors." 

" Oh," said the young man, " that is a liberty which 
belongs to everybody in France on a rainy day ; but should 
your carriage not come, and should you get tired of stand- 
ing, if you will come into the office we shall be pleased to 
give you all seats." 

Madame Lebreton again thanked the man for his 
civility. 

But as the time passed and I did not return, the Em- 
press thought perhaps something had happened to me, or 
that there might have been some misunderstanding as to 
where we were to meet. She remembered also the sinister 
glance of the eye of the station-master at La Riviere, and 
it began to trouble her ; and, growing more and more appre- 
hensive that something really serious had prevented my 
return, she requested Dr. Crane to go and try to find me. 

The doctor accordingly set out to hunt me up ; but after 
tramping about in the rain for nearly half an hour with- 
out success, he gave up the quest and went back to the 
carpet factory, where he found the Empress still standing 
in the doorway, her plain, dark dress glistening with rain, 
her skirts and shoes soiled; herself unnoticed, uncared for 
by those who passed by hurriedly on their way homeward, 
pushing their dripping umbrellas almost into the face of her 
who was now without a home and shelterless, but who 
only a few days before was their sovereign. Both the 
ladies were now beginning to feel very anxious indeed. 
Dr. Crane tried to reassure them, and also to persuade the 



1,1. 




THE PORTE COCHERE AT LISIEUX. 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 355 

Empress to step in under the cover of the passage, but to 
no purpose; so that, when my carriage turned into the 
street leading to the railway station, I saw her Majesty 
standing in the rain at the entrance of the factory, appar- 
ently alone, and presenting such a picture of complete 
abandonment and utter helplessness as to produce upon 
me a powerful and ineffaceable impression. 

It seemed impossible that this thing could be. What 
I saw was so utterly inconsistent with what I had seen, and 
the memory of which flashed into my mind instantly, that 
I could scarcely believe my own eyes. " Am I dreaming," 
I said to myself, " or is this indeed reality 1 ' ' 

Less than a year had passed since, at Constantinople, I 
had watched from the villa of Sefer Pacha the Aigle as she 
rounded the Seraglio Point and entered the waters of the 
Golden Horn, bringing the Empress as the guest of the 
Sultan, and had witnessed the unparalleled magnificence 
and splendor of the ceremony with which she was received. 

No vision of fairy-land could be more exquisitely beau- 
tiful than was seen under the soft, opalescent sky, and in 
the balmy atmosphere of that superb October day when, 
just before sundown, the barge of the Sultan, manned by 
forty oarsmen, and especially constructed to convey the 
Imperial visitor to the residence that had been chosen for 
her — the palace at Beylerbey, on the Asiatic shore — shot 
out upon the bright blue waters of the Bosporus, from 
under the walls of the palace at Dolma Bagchtie, and ap- 
peared in the midst of the fleet of war-ships, steamers, 
yachts, and innumerable caiques, decorated with the flags 
of France and Turkey ; half a million people, on the water 
and on the land, watching the wonderful spectacle; the 
Turkish women, dressed in costumes of the most brilliant 
colors, massed together by thousands in the open places 
on the bank, between Tophaneh and Dolma Bagchtie, that 
encircles the water-front like an amphitheater, and which 
framed in a noble and singularly picturesque setting the 



356 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

panoramic scene immediately before me. In the barge — 
a graceful construction of polished cedar, and ornamented 
with gold, and massive silver and velvet, and richest fab- 
rics — a dais or canopy of crimson silk had been erected, 
beneath the folds of which I saw the Empress, as the barge 
drew near me, sitting alone in evening dress, a light man- 
tilla over her head, wearing a diadem and many rich jewels, 
radiant and beautiful, and supremely happy and proud 
to accept this magnificent tribute paid to the glory of 
France, and to witness the extraordinary scene which she 
herself had unconsciously created. 

"It is impossible," I said to myself, as I recalled to 
mind the incidents of this more than royal progress, ' ' that 
she, who was the recipient in a foreign land of all those 
honors ; on whom, as the most interesting and distinguished 
feature and the most brilliant and attractive ornament of 
a marvelous pageant, thousands of eyes were then turned in 
wonder and admiration, was the same person who to-day 
is a fugitive, without a shelter even from the inclemency 
of the weather, forgotten, unnoticed by her own people as 
they pass by her on the street, and so completely lost, in 
this very France where she was once so honored, that her 
existence even is known to but two men — and those two 
Americans! " 

Such a shifting of situations and scenes might well have 
been the work of some malignant Jinn, so suddenly, so un- 
expectedly, with such seeming mockerj^ had the transfor- 
mation been made. So closely were these situations related 
to each other, so sharp were the contrasts they offered, 
that they seemed incredible. Yet all these events had 
actually taken place, and under my own eyes, and to the 
least circumstance were matters of fact and of history. 
And so it happens in human affairs, that the prodigies of 
Fortune in reality lie beyond the range of the imagination, 
and that truth is indeed sometimes stranger than fiction. 

I found the Empress wet through and through by the 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 357 

drenching rain, and it grieved me bitterly when I saw her 
in this pitiable condition. The vulgar, dismal, and dirty 
surroundings, the gloomy sky, and especially the wearied 
faces of the two ladies, that bespoke the consequences of 
many anxious, sleepless nights, made me feel more sad 
at that moment than I had felt at any time since our de- 
parture from Paris. But it was not long before we were 
on our way again ; and soon after leaving Lisieux the clouds 
lifted, and we caught glimpses of the sun. 

We were now passing through one of the richest agri- 
cultural departments in France, famous for its horses and 
its dairies; where the broad yellow fields from which the 
wheat had just been harvested; and acres of green sugar- 
beets, and belts of clover and lucerne in which the tethered 
cattle were feeding, extended to the right and to the left 
of us as far as the eye could reach. Here and there were 
farmhouses and thatched cottages, those nearest to us half 
concealed in the midst of orchards or by clumps of pro- 
tecting trees; those in the distance half revealed by the 
smoke slowly rising from great heaps of smoldering colza 
stalks. The splendid road was lined with trees on either 
side. Some of the villas we passed were very handsome, 
and looked charmingly in their setting of green lawn, and 
plots of flowers, and autumn foliage. And many of the 
quaint cottages and outbuildings with whitewashed walls, 
held together by a framework of black wooden beams 
arranged in lozenges, were extremely picturesque. The 
scenery was lovely, the air was mild and soft, and the coun- 
try looked clean, and fresh, and beautiful after the rain. 
It was not only la helle France which was here the object 
of our admiration, but la France faisant la belle after a 
frowning and unhappy morning. 

We were on the last stage of our journey, and, as 
things began to look brighter about us, we began to feel 
more cheerful and more hopeful; we amused ourselves, 
even, by recounting some of our experiences at the " Soleil 



358 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

d'Or." And the Empress told us how, before she left her 
room that morning, she had washed and ironed — that is, 
pressed out in some ingenious way, I have forgotten just 
how it was done — a couple of handkerchiefs, the only ones 
she had; and she exhibited them to us, asking if we did 
not think the work was well done, considering the circum- 
stances; adding archly, " When there is no necessity that 
moves us, we little suspect our own cleverness or capacity 
to do things." 

At Pont I'Eveque we stopped at the '^ Lion d'Or " just 
long enough to feed our horses and get a lunch ourselves, 
and then went on to Deauville, through the beautiful valley 
of the Auge, which soon unites with the valley of the 
Touques, past the little hamlets of Coudray, Canapville 
and Bonneville, and through Touques, with its quaint old 
wooden market and its long, deserted street, until we reached 
the bridge that crosses the river Touques at Trouville and 
connects this town with Deauville, which is exactly oppo- 
site, on the left bank of the river. Here we arrived about 
three o 'clock in the afternoon ; the last stage of our journey 
having been accomplished without interruption, and very 
comfortably, the carriage being the best one we had been 
able to obtain on the way. 

The route we had followed, from Evreux to the coast, 
was almost exactly the same as that which Louis Philippe 
had taken at the time of his flight from Paris, twenty-two 
years before. 

Just eight days previous to our escape from Paris I was 
walking with Mrs. Evans upon the beach at Deauville, as 
we were accustomed to do in the morning, when we met 

Count G. B , whom I had known for many years, 

although our acquaintance had always remained a casual 
one. By accident, a conversation ensued in the course of 
which the Count invited me to go, the next day, to see a 
villa which he had recently built or bought. I told him that 



ON THE ROAD TO THE COAST 359 

I should have to return to Paris early the next day — Mon- 
day — on account of my professional engagements; but he 
pressed me so much, and in so kind a manner, that I could 
not refuse, especially after he mentioned that he would 
like to show me an American ' ' buggy, ' ' or trotting wagon, 
that had been sent to him, and that he would take me 
out in this to see the country lying around Trouville 
and Deauville, which, notwithstanding my frequent vis- 
its to both towns, was not very well known to me. The 
next morning, at an early hour, the Count called on me 
with his new " trap," and we had a delightful drive over 
excellent roads, which offered to my view at every turn 
a great many things of interest. The time passed so quickly 
and pleasantly that it seemed to me we had but just started, 
when we arrived before the door of a church in Honfleur. 
Here the Count halted, and invited me to go with him into 
the building. On entering it, he said to me, " I hope you 
will excuse me for leaving you for a few moments, but I 
never come here without saying a prayer," 

Thereupon he went to the basin containing the holy 
water, crossed himself, and knelt down upon a priedieu 
opposite the altar, where he remained for some minutes in 
silent adoration. When we had left the church and were 
together again, he said : ' ' You were perhaps surprised 
that I made you wait in the church ; but it was at Honfleur 
that my King, Louis Philippe, spent his last night in 
France. The place where he slept a few hours during 
that night is not far oft', and, if it interests you, we will go 
and see it." I, of course, gladly assented, and we soon 
reached the very unpretentious-looking building where this 
unfortunate King of France passed his last hours in the 
country he had once governed. From my companion I 
learned that the house at that time (1848) belonged to a 
fashionable court milliner of the Place Vendome, who 
on this occasion offered to the dethroned monarch her 
hospitality. The vivid manner in which the Count related 



360 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

some of the incidents of the King's flight impressed upon 
me the sad story of the fall of that monarch from his high 
position. And now, one week later, strangely enough, I 
myself was accompanying another sovereign of France, 
who had experienced a still greater reverse of fortune, in 
her flight from her capital over almost exactly the same 
road, her Majesty reaching the coast at Deauville, and 
Louis Philippe at Trouville; for it was at Trouville that 
he remained several days, hidden in a small house in one 
of the narrowest streets in the town — No. 5 Rue des 
Rosiers — before venturing to go on to Honfleur. 




CHAPTER XIII 

DEAUVILLE — THE EMBARKATION 

Deauville — Precautions — Looking for a boat in which to cross the Chan- 
nel — Interview with Sir John Burgoyne — Lady Burgoync — -Dinner 
at the Hotel du Casino — A small gold locket — I meet Sir John 
Burgoyne on the quay — Her Majesty leaves the H6tel du Casino 
— A wild night — The strangeness of the situation — Contrasts — On 
board the Gazelle — Dr. Crane returns to Paris. 

i^^!^M HEN the first houses of Deauville became visible, 
the driver asked me where I wished him to 
take us. To find an answer to this question 
had greatly perplexed me during the last hour ; 
for, although our destination was the Hotel du Casino, 
where 1 had apartments for my wife and myself, I did not 
think it wise to drive there openly, fearing that word might 
have been sent ahead to arrest us in ease we should be 
found there. 

"We had little doubt that a description of us had been 
forwarded to all the seaports of France, and the fact that 
Mrs. Evans was passing the season there was a special rea- 
son for suspecting that a careful watch would be kept 
about this hotel and its immediate neighborhood. More- 
over, my wife was quite unaware of my presence in Deau- 
ville, and of the special circumstances which had brought 
me here. I therefore told our driver to stop at the entrance 
of the race-course, as a friend of mine lived near by whom 
I wished to see before going farther. 

When we halted at the side of the road, I got out, and 
leaving my companions in the carriage, walked into the 

361 



362 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

town. On arriving at the Hotel du Casino, passing behind 
the main buildins:, I went through the garden, entered 
a door of the house at the end fronting on the sea, and 
rapidly mounted the staircase leading to the rooms occu- 
pied by Mrs. Evans. Fortunately I found my wife at 
home, and I announced to her in as few words as possible 
what had happened and told her what I wished to do. I 
learned from her that no news about us had been received 
at Deauville, and that no one knew where the Empress 
was. So there seemed to be no danger to be apprehended 
for the moment. Whereupon, having provided myself with 
an umbrella — for it had now begun to rain — I went back 
to the place where I had left the carriage and rejoined my 
companions. 

After reporting to them that all was well and every- 
thing in readiness, I gave the driver instructions where to 
go, telling him to stop in front of the little gate that opened 
into the garden at the west end of the hotel. I thus took 
the Empress to the hotel by the same side-way by which I 
myself had approached it on arriving. Dr. Crane and 
Madame Lebreton then turned about and drove up to the 
front entrance, where they got out and made their inquiries 
like other travelers. When the Empress and I came to the 
garden-gate, I found my umbrella very useful, for a young 
American happened to be standing there who, upon see- 
ing me, advanced to greet me. As a few drops of rain 
were falling I opened and held the umbrella in front of 
me, at the same time walking quickly forward. I was told, 
not long after, that he took my companion for Mrs. 
Evans, and thought I had not seen him. We thus for- 
tunately reached Mrs. Evans's rooms unobserved, where, 
after greeting my wife, the Empress fell back exhausted 
into an armchair, exclaiming: 

" Oh, mon Dieu, je suis sauvee! " 

A few minutes later I heard the chambermaid directing 
Dr. Crane and Madame Lebreton to rooms that were ex- 



DEAUVILLE 363 

actly opposite ours, which made communication easy be- 
tween them and us in case of need. In accordance with 
a previous understanding, they had asked for rooms on the 
first floor, on which were the apartments occupied by my 
wife, but had acted as if they were strangers to the place 
and had nothing to do with us. 

So far everything had succeeded very well. The next 
thing to be considered was how we were to get to England. 
Accordingly, soon after our arrival at the hotel, accom- 
panied by Dr. Crane I crossed over the ferry to Trouville 
to obtain information on this subject; and, more particu- 
larly, to see if there was any chance of obtaining a boat 
for the execution of this part of our plan, and which, 
perhaps, I might hire under the pretext of desiring to use 
it for a fishing-excursion or for a pleasure-cruise. 

There were two possible ways for us to cross the 
Channel : one was by the regular passenger-boat that left 
Havre for Southampton on the following evening at nine 
o'clock; the other was by a boat hired for the trip, or 
whose owner might be disposed to share with us volun- 
tarily the honor and the risk of aiding her Majesty to es- 
cape from Prance. The Havre-Southampton boat we did 
not wish to take, if we could possibly avoid it. There was 
sure to be a great number of passengers on board, some of 
them probably refugees like ourselves. Detectives would 
very probably be on the look-out for them ; and, if so, were 
we among them we certainly should be discovered. No, we 
will not go that way, we said, so long as there is the 
least chance of our being able to find a suitable boat for 
our exclusive use, even if we have to go over to Havre to 
get one. 

While we were considering these matters and making 
inquiries about the boats that could be hired in this place 
for excursions, our way had taken us along the quays to 
the bridge over the Touques, connecting Trouville and 
Deauville, and close by the Deauville docks. I now re- 



864 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

membered that a number of pleasure-yachts were fre- 
quently lying in these locked docks; for instance, I had 
often seen there one owned by the Dulce of Hamilton, as 
well as those of other Englishmen; and I knew that if 
I could obtain one of these we could cross the Channel 
much more comfortably than in a fishing-vessel. We there- 
fore directed our steps toward these docks in search of 
a yacht, and soon discovered, in the upper one, a boat 
with two masts, which we thought would serve our pur- 
pose uncommonly well. 

On making inquiries about it, we were informed that 
the owner was absent, but that we would find in the cabin 
an American gentleman, one of his friends. Hearing this, 
I decided not to go on board, as I feared I might meet an 
acquaintance. Proceeding a little farther along the quay 
{de la Marine), I saw another but smaller boat, half con- 
cealed behind a huge pile of boards. At the same time a 
sailor approached us, wearing a blue jersey packet, and 
having on his cap the word Gazelle. 

Upon our inquiring to what boat he belonged, he in- 
formed us that he was one of the crew of a yacht owned 
hj Sir John Burgoyne, which happened to be the very 
vessel I was looking at. After I had spoken of the neat, 
trim appearance of his j^acht, and expressed a wish to ob- 
tain certain information about it, he said that if I would 
go on board he thought there would be no difficulty in my 
getting it from Sir John himself, as he believed he was 
in the cabin. And so, under the guidance of the sailor, 
we went on board the Gazelle. The man then left us, and 
after a few minutes returned to announce that his master 
would show us over the vessel. "When Sir John Burgoyne 
joined us, we introduced ourselves, I handing him my card 
having on it the words : 

'* Dr. Thomas W. Evans, 
" President of the American Sanitary Committee, Paris." 



DEAUVILLE 365 

We told him that we had admired the appearance of 
his boat, and had come on board at the suggestion of one 
of his men. We thanked him for his courtesy in receiv- 
ing us, and, without immediately disclosing to him the 
real purpose for which we had come, after having asked 
a question or two, told him we should certainly be very 
glad to visit the yacht. Whereupon the owner of the 
Gazelle led us round, showing and explaining to us many 
of the details of his pretty craft, telling us something of 
its history; giving its measurement, forty -two tons; its 
length, sixty feet; the number of the crew, six all told, 
and so forth; and finally, after we had obtained all the 
information we desired with respect to the boat, he an- 
nounced to us that he hoped to leave the next morning, 
about seven o'clock, for England, as at that hour the tide 
would enable him to get out of the harbor, adding that 
bad weather had already kept him in Deauville a few 
days longer than he had anticipated. 

After Sir John Burgoyne had finished showing us his 
yacht, and had stated his intention to leave Deauville the 
next morning, I drew him aside and told him I had a 
confidential communication to make, saying that I believed 
him to be a man in whose honor I could trust, and on 
whose silence I could rely should he be unable to give me 
the special assistance I was seeking. Sir John, in answer 
to my statement, opened his card-case, and giving me a 
card, remarked, " I am an English gentleman, and have 
been in her Majesty's service and in the army for some 
years." These words quite assured me, and I then told 
him frankly and without reserve how I happened to be in 
Deauville. I related some of the incidents connected with 
the Revolution in Paris, and with our flight from the city. 
I told him where the Empress was at the time ; of the un- 
happy situation she was in; that it was her Majesty's most 
earnest desire to escape to England; that we were afraid 
to make use of any public conveyance; and finally asked 
25 



S66 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

him whether, in view of the urgency of the case, he would 
be willing to receive the unfortunate sovereign, Madame 
Lebreton, and myself on board his yacht and take us to 
England. I, of course, did not doubt for a moment that 
his answer would be in the affirmative. The reader may 
therefore imagine my astonishment when Sir John replied : 
" I regret, gentlemen, that I am unable to assist you in 
this matter. ' ' 

Although Dr. Crane and I had noticed the change in 
Sir John's manner immediately he was made aware of the 
real object of our visit, we were not prepared for his 
refusal of our request. But what appeared to us still 
more extraordinary were the reasons he gave for declining 
to assist us. Inasmuch as he had with some emphasis 
drawn my attention to the fact that he was an English 
gentleman, I said to him: " Sir John, I am an American, 
and in our country every man will run any risk for a 
woman, and especially for a lady whose life is in danger. 
I, therefore, when her Majesty applied to me for help, 
left my home in Paris, and all that it contains, without 
taking the least thought of the dangers that might come 
in my way, or calculating the losses I might suffer. ' ' And 
with the greatest earnestness, and remaining as calm as 
possible, I informed him that I should endeavor to find a 
boat whose owner would be willing to give us the assistance 
we required, adding that I had already examined another 
yacht in the basin which would quite answer our purpose. 

My last words seemed to have caused Sir John to 
reflect, for, after hesitating a moment, he said to me: 
" That little schooner, in such weather as we shall prob- 
ably have, would be very likely to go to the bottom, in 
ease the owner should consent to make the trip." 

Although, after what he had said at first, I had no 
intention of discussing the subject further with Sir John, 
this remark of his set me to thinking of my own responsi- 
bility for the safety of the illustrious lady who had en- 



DEAUVILLE 367 

trusted her life to me. And in justice to Sir John I 
should say that, among the reasons he assigned for not 
being disposed to receive the Empress on board his boat, 
there were two or three which I am now willing to admit 
were entitled to much more consideration than at the time 
I was inclined to give them. He was by no means certain, 
he said, that he should be able to leave Deauville the next 
day, on account of the heavy sea outside, and the northwest 
wind that was still blowing stiffly. For her Majesty to re- 
main long on the yacht in port might become embarrassing, 
and to put to sea dangerous. 

Dr. Crane, in the meantime, not willing to accept a 
refusal, continued the conversation with Sir John, and 
urged him strongly to reconsider the matter. He re- 
minded him that his decision was one that concerned not 
only the Empress, but himself as well; that a man rarely 
had the chance to accede to such a request as we were 
making; that, were he to take the Empress over to Eng- 
land, he might some day be very glad he had once had 
the good fortune to be of service to her; when, abruptly, 
as if to end the whole matter, Sir John said : ' ' Well, 
gentleman, you may submit the case to Lady Burgoyne. 
If she is willing to have the Empress come on board, she 
can come." 

We then, on Sir John's invitation, went down into the 
cabin, and were presented to Lady Burgoyne. When, 
the facts had been laid before Lady Burgoyne, and her 
husband asked her if she was willing to have the Empress 
come on board, she instantly replied : ' ' Well, why not ? I 
certainly shall be greatly pleased if we can be of any assist- 
ance to her, and I can readily understand how anxious she 
must be at the present moment to find a refuge. Let her 
come to us to-night, or as soon as she can safely do so." 

Our request had met with a favorable answer. We 
had found a boat on which her Majesty could cross the 
Channel to England. 



368 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

As dinner-time was approaching, we now took leave of 
Sir John and Lady Burgoyne; and the former not having 
yet given me any definite answer to certain questions re- 
lating to our embarking, I made an appointment to 
meet him in the evening on the quay, in the lumber-yard. 
Thereupon Dr. Crane and I returned to the Hotel du 
Casino, and I announced to her Majesty what we had done. 

At about half past six o'clock, the usual dining-hour, 
I ordered dinner for two persons to be served in our 
drawing-room, because the presence of the Empress, as 
before stated, was not known in the hotel, and three din- 
ners could not have been called for without risking dis- 
covery or exciting a dangerous curiosity. After the table 
had been set, Mrs. Evans's maid took the dishes from the 
hands of the waiter who brought them up-stairs, and no 
waiter or servant was permitted to enter the room while 
the Empress was there. The fact that we had to divide 
our table service and food, which were meant for two per- 
sons only, in such a manner that three persons could dine, 
created much amusement, and we were put into rather 
a merry mood, the Empress herself two or three times 
giving way to hearty laughter at the shifts that were 
resorted to during this improvised dinner. 

Since her Majesty had left the Tuileries she had not 
once sat down to a regular meal, for during our whole 
journey she had found no opportunity to do so. This 
dinner in our bright, quiet room, which fronted the sea 
and the setting sun, was therefore greatly appreciated, 
and especially as the news I had brought that she was 
to embark that evening had relieved her of a heavy weight 
of anxiety. For the moment she seemed to feel that she 
had come to the end of her journey, and talked with 
animation about the events of the past few days and the 
incidents of which she herself was a witness, dwelling, how- 
ever, rather on those of a personal than of a political char- 
acter. She appeared to forget the perils she had escaped, 



DEAUVILLE 369 

and to look upon the novelties and limitations of her present 
estate as if they were parts of a comedy at which she could 
laugh and be amused. She had at length found rest; she 
was to embark that night, and was happy. And what did 
it amount to, this Revolution in Paris ? It could not change 
the past, and the future was in the keeping of God. And 
then a sweet expression, as if of gratitude and trust, spread 
over the features of our illustrious guest, and for some 
time she sat in silent reflection. Perhaps her thoughts 
wandered to her loved ones who were separated from her, 
and of whose fate she was ignorant. 

After a while she drew from her pocket a small gold 
locket, that contained a likeness of the Prince Imperial, 
and fixed her eyes tenderly upon the beloved features of 
her son, whom she had not seen since they parted at 
Saint Cloud. But the thoughts which were awakened in 
her mind by this picture were too vivid and painful for 
her at this trying moment; and although she had hitherto 
succeeded perfectly in suppressing her feelings of anxiety 
concerning him while she still needed strength for action, 
she now burst into a flood of tears. After a few moments 
she regained her self-possession. She then told us she had 
not dared to look upon the miniature of the Prince for 
many days, knowing well how the sight of the face of her 
child would act upon her. She was now glad, however, 
that she had done so, because it had greatly relieved her. 
"When she had conversed for an hour or more with us, her 
Majesty began to show signs of weariness, and, on the ad- 
vice of Mrs. Evans, she withdrew to my wife's bedroom, 
and, lying down upon her bed, soon fell into a sound 
sleep. 

I then went over to Dr. Crane's room, where I re- 
mained until about half past ten o'clock, when I left the 
hotel to keep the appointment which I had made with Sir 
John Burgoyne to meet him in the lumber-yard near the 
railway station. 



S70 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

On arriving at the place mentioned, I found Sir John 
waiting for me behind a pile of planks. I inquired if he 
had decided when we could go on board; for, at the end 
of our interview in the afternoon, the time when he would 
be ready to receive us had not been fixed, and I was 
naturally quite anxious about it, since I was afraid some- 
thing might occur at the last moment to interfere with 
the realization of our hopes and wishes. Sir John replied 
that he thought it would be best for us not to come on 
board until morning — say five or six o'clock — a little be- 
fore he cast off and began to warp the yacht out of the 
dock. The delay which was then suggested, although only 
of a few hours, made me feel very uncomfortable. I told 
Sir John that, if we were really to leave the harbor at an 
early hour in the morning, in my opinion the Empress 
ought to go on board at once; that five o'clock was a most 
inconvenient hour for every one; that it would be impru- 
dent for us to wait until morning, because the Empress 
was in Mrs. Evans's rooms, without any one knowing 
the fact, and it would be very difficult for her to leave at 
so early an hour of the day without attracting attention; 
that, on the other hand, it would be comparatively easy 
for us to leave the hotel toward midnight, because there 
was a train from Paris due about twelve o'clock, and 
passengers arriving by it often remained for an hour or 
more in the dining-room, as the hotel was not usually 
closed until after 1 a.m. We could therefore slip out in 
the dark into the garden at a time when most of the regular 
guests were in bed, and escape also the notice of servants 
or watchmen. For these reasons I was convinced that it 
would be best for us to go on board as soon as we could 
get ready — it was then after eleven o'clock — and I told 
him that, unless we could do this, I greatly feared his help 
would be of little use to us. 

" It is a great responsibility that you are asking me 
to assume," said Sir John. 



THE EMBARKATION 371 

" Perhaps," I replied; " but the greater the responsi- 
bility, the greater the honor." 

Sir John made no answer to this ; but after an interval 
of time, during which neither of us spoke, he said : ' ' The 
barometer has been rising for some hours, and the wind 
and the sea have gone down considerably. I think we can 
get out to-morrow. Well, she may come. We shall be 
ready to receive you by twelve o'clock. Come down by 
where we are now standing; one of my men shall be here 
with a lantern, and I will meet you on the quay by the 
gang-plank, on which there will be a light." 

In my conversation with Sir John Burgoyne I had been 
very careful to say nothing more than was necessary, be- 
cause, until I met him, none but the persons directly con- 
cerned in her escape from Paris knew where the Empress 
was; and during the whole of the eventful journey of 
the two previous days, no one, so far as I knew, had rec- 
ognized her. It was in Deauville that I was obliged for 
the first time to entrust the secret to a stranger; and I 
was, of course, anxious to know for a certainty that it 
would be unnecessary for me to communicate it to others. 
I felt, therefore, greatly relieved when Sir John consented 
to permit us to go on board the Gazelle that night. 

On returning to our hotel, I found the Empress still 
sleeping quietly; but I informed Madame Lebreton that 
I had seen Sir John Burgoyne, that all the arrangements 
had been made to receive us, and that we must get ready 
at once to go on board of the yacht. 

During my absence Mrs. Evans had prepared for her 
guests a parcel containing linen and the articles most nec- 
essary for a voyage ; so that neither the Empress nor Ma- 
dame Lebreton — who had, as before mentioned, been unable 
to provide themselves with the commonest articles of the 
toilet when leaving the Tuileries — should be in want of 
them until they were settled in England. Some wraps 
and shawls for the ladies completed the outfit. 



372 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Her Majesty soon joined us, and, putting on her hat 
and waterproof, said she was ready to go. Then, after 
taking leave of Mrs. Evans, embracing her most tenderly 
and with many thanks, accompanied by me — leaving Dr. 
Crane and Madame Lebreton to follow a little later — she 
passed out of the hotel through the door by which we had 
entered. 

It did not rain, but the weather was threatening. A 
strong wind was blowing in sharp gusts from the west and 
driving the dark clouds swiftly across the face of the moon, 
that for an instant shone out brightly, and then disappeared 
so suddenly as to plunge everything into obscurity. It 
was a wild night, and as the sound of the distant surge 
of the sea came to my ears, it seemed to be the forerunner 
of some impending calamity. And it was! At that very 
moment the Captain, the most powerful fighting ship in 
the British navy, was struggling with the storm at the 
mouth of the Channel, where she sank an hour later, tak- 
ing down with her all on board, a crew of officers and 
men five hundred in number; and — a remarkable coinci- 
dence — her commander was Sir Hugh Burgoyne, a cousin 
of the Sir John Burgoyne, on whose small cutter we were 
so rejoiced to know we were to embark this night that 
we had never once thought of danger. The appalling 
news of the loss of the Captain, which came to us very 
soon after we arrived in England, impressed us very for- 
cibly with a sense of the risks and hazards of attempting 
to cross the English Channel in such weather, in such a 
boat as the Gazelle, and of thankfulness that we ourselves 
had not been swallowed up by the besieging and insa- 
tiable sea. 

We had gone but a few steps, when the puddles of 
water in the road and the uncertain light caused us to 
separate and pick our way as best we could. Indeed, the 
Empress, who was in advance of me and hurrying for- 



THE EMBARKATION 373 

ward eager to reach the quay, I am sure must several times 
have quite lost sight of me. 

At first we followed the road that skirts the seashore, 
going towards the lighthouse; and then, turning to the 
right, we entered a path that crossed some open jfields and 
came out at the Eue du Casino, not far from the place 
where stood the statue of the Duke de Morny — the Em- 
peror's faithful and intelligent friend, his alter ego — to 
whom Deauville owes its existence as a fashionable seaside 
resort. 

As the Rue du Casino led almost directly to the head 
of the dock in which the Gazelle was lying, we crossed the 
Place de Morny, and passing hurriedly by a cafe brilliantly 
lighted and from which issued the sound of drunken voices, 
we walked on in the middle of the street until, approach- 
ing the appointed rendezvous, we saw the man with the 
lantern, whom Sir John had put there to guide us to the 
yacht. Turning to the right and the left to avoid stacks 
of timber, and piles of boards, and pools of water on the 
ground, we very soon reached the place where the Gazelle 
was moored, and found Sir John waiting for us at the 
gang-plank. After being introduced to the Empress, he 
escorted us down into the cabin, where we were received 
by Lady Burgoyne. 

The condition in which we arrived was deplorable. 
Our shoes were water-soaked, our clothing bedraggled, and 
we were spattered with mud from head to foot. 

It had rained heavily during the day, and we had 
walked quite three-quarters of a mile, a large part of the 
way over ground covered with sand-drifts, where it was 
impossible at times, in the shifting and uncertain light, 
to avoid stumbling against invisible hillocks, or stepping 
into holes full of water and mud. "We had come 
quickl}'^, considering the roughness of the way, but had 
proceeded separately and silently, scarcely uttering a 
word. 



374 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

"What may have been the thoughts of her Majesty as 
we were hurrying through the byways and deserted streets 
of Deauville at midnight, anxious not to be seen, under 
the protection even of the darkness and the storm, I can- 
not say. With me the thought uppermost was the strange- 
ness of the situation. It seemed impossible that I was 
really alone with the Empress of the French, who was 
leaving in this remarkable manner the land where she had 
reigned so many years in splendor, and the people to whom 
she had been so devoted and by whom she had been so 
greatly admired. 

How different was this departure of the Empress for 
a foreign country from those of former days ! Then, she 
went forth accompanied by her ladies-in-waiting, and 
chamberlains, and officers of the household, escorted by 
squadrons of cavalry riding rapidly through the streets 
lined with enthusiastic spectators, crying, " Vive I'lmpera- 
trice! " and who assembled in crowds about the approaches 
of the quays to catch a glimpse of her person, and to greet 
her with offerings of flowers and multitudinous manifesta- 
tions of patriotism and loyalty. How different were her 
journeys in France commenced in the days of her sov- 
ereignty! Then, every step from one place to another 
resembled a triumph, and the journals all over the country 
vied with each other in reporting the most trivial inci- 
dents in the tournee of her Imperial Majesty, the beautiful 
and distinguished consort of the ruler of France. 

On that gloomy night of September 6th and 7th there 
were no flags waving, no cries of " Vive I'Imperatrice! " 
or '' Vive Eugenie! " nor any admiring crowd to witness 
the departure, perhaps forever, of this great lady from 
the home she had so long made radiant by her presence; 
only the clouds in black masses, spread over the heavens 
like mourning drapery; there were no offerings of fresh 
flowers, only the scattered leaves of autumn driven before 
the wind; there were no attending courtiers at her side. 



THE EMBARKATION 375 

only one follower and friend accompanying the deserted 
Empress to the place where she was to embark; and the 
only voices to be heard were those of men singing the 
" Marseillaise " in the wine-shops, and of the howling 
storm, and of the rolling waves breaking against the 
shore. The world which had always heretofore been so 
accurately informed as to every movement of her Majesty, 
did not know that she was about to leave her country; 
and her subjects were so busy in the work of smashing in 
pieces the whole fabric of the Imperial Government, or 
in seeking their own personal safety, that nobody in the 
capital from which she had fled seemed to have even 
thought of her. 

This indifference, however sad and regrettable, was at 
least fortunate for her Majesty in one respect ; for, though 
it was quite certain that there would be no courtiers to 
follow her, it was very questionable whether some spy 
might not be lurking by the w^ay to prevent the unfortu- 
nate sovereign escaping from the jurisdiction of the Rev- 
olutionary Government. But no spy even was sent to fol- 
low her. The thought, however, that a mouchard might be 
watching us made me feel uneasy at each step; and every 
sound and every sudden ray of light falling across our 
path startled me, and gave rise to some apprehension that, 
although apparently so near the realization of our purpose, 
the success of the previous days might end in failure. 

A sadder night I have never experienced, and I hope 
never to witness its like again. 

Soon afterv/ard Madame Lebreton arrived, accompanied 
by Dr. Crane, bringing along with him the parcel above 
mentioned. They had come to the yacht over a different 
route from that taken by us; but they had been obliged 
to wade through the water, which in several places was 
quite deep, and had m_et wuth the same difficulties on the 
road that her Majesty and I had encountered. 

Lady Burgoyne was most gracious and sympathetic. 



376 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

She immediately placed everything she had at the disposal 
of the two ladies, and did everything in her power to 
make them comfortable. Changes of clothing were made, 
a room was provided for them, and then hot punch was 
prepared and served, which was greatly appreciated by 
the whole company. The only news we heard on board 
the yacht, apart from what we had read in the Paris 
morning papers, consisted of vague rumors that during the 
day, acts of violence had been committed in Paris; that a 
number of persons had been arrested, and among others 
the Princess Mathilde. The Empress was particularly 
anxious to know if the London papers contained any news 
of the Prince Imperial, or any information about the Em- 
peror, and was greatly disappointed to learn that the 
latest English papers received, dated September 5th, con- 
tained very little that interested her, and no indication 
of the place in which the Prince then was. She, however, 
quickly suppressed her emotion, thanked Lady Burgoyne 
for what she had done and was doing for her, and re- 
counted some of her own recent personal experiences. 

After we had talked together awhile, the Empress and 
Madame Lebreton retired to their small stateroom at the 
end of the cabin, and Lady Burgoyne also went to her 
berth, which was at the side of the saloon. 

After the ladies had left us. Sir John, Dr. Crane, and 
myself went on to the deck, where we walked slowly up 
and down in subdued conversation. Sir John told us some 
of his yachting experiences, and again reminded me of 
the fact that he had been brought up as a soldier. He 
said that, after quitting the army, he had spent a great 
deal of his time in yachting, and that his friends consid- 
ered him a famous sailor. He also again referred to the 
unpleasant consequences which our presence on board his 
yacht might have for him. I assured him there were no 
reasons for such apprehensions, as our secret was safe for 
the time being, and that, when it became known that he 



THE EMBARKATION 377 

had taken us over to England, no one could blame him, 
but on the contrary, every one would praise him. Sir 
John then remarked that he was greatly afraid the Em- 
press had been followed by spies ; that he had been to the 
Casino during the evening, where his suspicions had been 
aroused. He was evidently very uneasy, and on the watch 
for some movement having for its object the arrest of her 
Majesty. But everything remained perfectly quiet in the 
neighborhood, and not a soul came near the yacht, or 
was seen, but the douanier (the custom-house officer) on 
guard. 

It was perhaps 3 a.m. when we left the deck and re- 
turned to the cabin; and while Dr. Crane and I sat or 
reclined upon a settee near the table in the center of the 
small saloon, Sir John lay down in a berth on the side of 
the cabin opposite to that where Lady Burgoyne was rest- 
ing. Neither my friend nor I thought of sleep, and we 
talked over various important matters which had to be 
attended to during my absence from France, and especially 
considered what further provision was necessary to com- 
plete and put in working order the Ambulance in Paris, 
which I had left so unexpectedly and so suddenly. 

Soon after it began to grow light. Sir John went on 
deck, and, on returning, reported wet weather, and a fresh 
west-southwest wind ; but that he had given orders to have 
everything ready to cast off before seven o'clock. The 
Empress was now informed that we were soon to leave 
the dock, and that Dr. Crane was not to remain with 
us, and would take back to Paris any messages she might 
wish to send. Her Majesty rose immediately, and, com- 
ing into the saloon, sat down on a settee and gave the 
doctor a list of the persons she wished him to see, together 
with instructions respecting the channels through which 
letters or other communications could be quickly and safely 
sent to her. Her Majesty's messages were, however, al- 
most entirely of a personal character, and were intended 



378 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

to relieve her friends of any anxiety they might have felt 
on account of her sudden and mysterious disappearance. 
About half past six o'clock Dr. Crane bade us good-by 
and went back to the Hotel du Casino, from which place, 
after having presented our adieus to Mrs. Evans, he 
returned to Paris. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE MEETING BETWEEN MOTHER AND SON 

We leave the harbor — Rough weather — In a gale — We reach Ryde 
Roads — The landing — At the York Hotel — News of the Prince 
Imperial — The Empress and the Bible — We go to Brighton — The 
Empress hears that the Prince Imperial is at Hastings — She insists 
on going there — A vain device — We arrive at Hastings — I go to 
the Marine Hotel and find the Prince — My plan for a meeting 
between mother and son — The Empress cannot wait — The way 
barred — The Prince in the presence of his mother — Tears of joy and 
of sorrow — The Empress and the Prince Imperial remain in Hastings 
— House-hunting — Mrs. Evans comes to England — Miss Shaw — 
Camden Place — Negotiations — Camden Place is rented — "A spirited 
horse, perfectly safe" — Her Majesty leaves Hastings — She takes 
possession of her new home — ^The first night at Chislehurst — The 
first act of the Empress next day — A tragic story — Conversations 
with the Empress. 

!T was a little after seven o'clock when we left 
the harbor of Deauville-Trouville and laid our 
course for Southampton. The weather was 
thick, a little rain was falling, and the sea 
rough; but the yacht, with her mainsails set, together 
with the spinnaker and second jib, and the wind in her 
favor, began to make good headway. This gave us hope 
that we should reach the English shore during the course 
of the afternoon. Our hopes, however, soon left us, for 
the weather grew worse, and before long became very 
threatening. At about one o'clock a violent squall came 
up, the wind veering round almost dead ahead, and blow- 
ing from the northwest, the direction in which we had 
up to this time been steering. We lost our spinnaker 

379 




380 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

boom by this sudden shift of the wind, and were forced 
at once to reef the mainsail, run down the jib, and set the 
storm- jib. All hands were called up, and orders were 
given to have everything made fast and to be prepared 
for a blow. From moment to moment the wind increased 
in intensity, and the yacht began to roll and pitch more 
and more heavily, taking on board large quantities of 
water. The force of the wind was so great, and the sea 
running so high, that soon it was no longer possible to 
keep our course. 

Under these circumstances it became a serious question 
whether we should be able to continue our voyage, for the 
Gazelle was not calculated to encounter such rough weather, 
and Sir John suggested to me that he might be forced 
to seek a shelter in some harbor on the French coast. I 
was much disturbed to learn that it was possible we might 
be compelled to put back, and insisted that we ought to 
trust in Providence, which had hitherto protected us. But 
I was greatly reassured when the Empress herself told 
us she was not afraid. She considered that she had es- 
caped from a much more dangerous storm when she left 
her capital. Indeed, the courage and the unwavering for- 
titude which her Majesty showed during the whole voyage 
made a great impression upon everybody on board. Sir 
John, observing her Majesty's fearlessness, and believing 
it to be her wish that we should continue on our course, 
made no further reference to turning back. 

But the gale continued, the violence of the gusts in- 
creased, and the yacht rolled badly in the heavy ground- 
swell. In order to expose the small craft as little as pos- 
sible to the severity of the tempest, her sails were closely 
reefed, except a small storm-sail, and her head brought 
up into the wind, where she lay plunging and rolling and 
making no headway, except by drifting with the tide or 
on short tacks. It was six o'clock when the Isle of "Wight 
was first sighted, in the eye of the wind ; and the worst of 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 381 

the storm was yet to come. The night settled down thick 
and dark; the gusts of wind became still more frequent, 
and the rain fell in torrents, accompanied by vivid flashes 
of lightning and sharp thunder. As the yacht reeled and 
staggered in the wild sea that swept over her deck and 
slapped her sides with tremendous force, it seemed as if 
she was about to be engulfed, and that the end indeed 
was near. At one moment the pounding on the deck was 
such that her Majesty sent to inquire what had happened 
— if any one had been hurt. But the Gazelle, although 
small, proved to be a stanch boat, and careen as she might 
under the force of the storm, she righted herself quickly 
and rose on the next big wave, buoyant as a cork. The 
Empress told me afterward that during this night she 
several times thought we were sinking, and that the noise 
and the creaking were such as to cause her to believe 
the yacht would certainly go to pieces before many min- 
utes. ' ' I was sure we were lost, ' ' she said ; ' ' but, singular 
as it may seem, I did not feel alarmed in the least. I 
have always loved the sea, and it had for me no terrors 
then. Were I to disappear, I thought to myself, death, 
perhaps, could not come more opportunely, nor provide 
me with a more desirable grave." 

Towards midnight the force of the gale began to abate, 
so we let out a reef in our mainsail; and the wind com- 
ing round more to the west, we began to scud along quite 
briskly toward the Nut Light, which could be seen dead 
ahead. The weather continuing to improve, we reached 
Ryde Roads, and dropped anchor there about four o'clock 
on the morning of September 8th. As soon as she heard 
that we were safely across the Channel, her Majesty re- 
quested me to thank the crew, as an expression of our 
appreciation of their services, and at the same time I 
handed them some gold coins, which, it was suggested, 
they might keep as souvenirs of the voyage. 

The sun was just rising when we left Sir John's yacht 
26 



382 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

to go asliore. We landed at the pier, and having passed 
the toll-gate, where we were stopped for a moment, we 
first directed our steps to the Pier Hotel, very near the 
jetty. But here, probably because of the early hour, or 
our shabby appearance — on foot and without luggage — we 
were refused admittance ; the reason, however, very po- 
litely given, was that there were no rooms unoccupied. 
We then walked up George Street until we came to the 
York Hotel. Here I asked for rooms for our party, but 
the woman to whom I spoke, apparently hardly deeming 
us worthy of an answer, left us and kept us waiting for 
a long while before she at last returned, saying that we 
could be accommodated. She then showed us up to the 
top of the house, where we were led into some very small 
rooms, which we told her would do for the present; for 
we were glad to find even such a resting-place as this, 
after the discomforts and emotions we had experi- 
enced during our perilous passage across the English 
Channel. On her asking for our names, I wrote upon 
a bit of paper, " Mr. Thomas and sister, with a lady 
friend. ' ' 

As I was about to leave the ladies, in order that they 
might give some of their clothes to the chambermaid to be 
cleaned and dried, and have a chance to dress, it was discov- 
ered that the gown worn by her Majesty could not at 
once be entrusted to the domestics of the house, for it 
was attached to a belt upon which was fastened a large 
silver " E " surmounted by a crown. This ornament 
had first to be removed, since it would undoubtedly 
have attracted immediate notice. Her Majesty therefore 
handed this garment out to me through the half-opened 
door; and after making the necessary change in it, I took 
it down-stairs to have it cleaned and dried as well and 
as quickly as possible by the kitchen fire. When the ladies 
had dressed, and rested for a time, we sat down to break- 
fast, which was very welcome to us, for on board the yacht 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 383 

we had eaten little, and became keenly aware of our fam- 
ished condition soon after our feet had touched terra 
firma. We would surely have liked to repose for a 
day or two, now that we were safe in England; for 
none of us had been able to get much, if any, sleep 
during the preceding four days, and, besides, we were 
each one of us thoroughly worn out under the inces- 
sant stress of our anxieties and responsibilities. But 
we did not yield to this temptation, for we were too 
eager to know what had happened during the days that 
we had been cut off from every source of information, 
and, furthermore, felt that we must be ready, at a mo- 
ment's notice, to leave for a destination to be determined 
by the circumstances. 

I therefore, soon after breakfast, went into the town 
to see what news there might be of interest to us; for I 
knew that the plans and movements of the Empress were 
necessarily dependent upon the political situation created 
by the events immediately succeeding the fall of the Im- 
perial Government, and more particularly, and directly, 
on news concerning the Prince Imperial, whom she was 
most anxious to hear from and to see. 

In a morning paper that I bought, it was reported that 
the Prince had arrived at Hastings. I felt that, if this 
news should prove to be correct, it would be, of course, 
my duty to bring the mother and son together as quickly 
as possible. Since, however, I did not place much confi- 
dence in what I had read, the papers accepting at the 
time so many rumors for facts, and fearing the report 
might excite her Majesty unnecessarily, I concluded to 
simply state to her that it would, in my opinion, be well 
to go on at once to Brighton. There I hoped to learn the 
truth; and Brighton was on the direct road to, and not 
far from, Hastings. 

Upon my return to the hotel I found the Empress 
sitting with an open Bible in her hand. Her Majesty, 



S84 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

not being aware of the English custom of keeping in the 
rooms of hotels copies of the Old and New Testaments, 
told me that she was quite surprised to find this book 
upon the table, and that, regarding its presence as provi- 
dential, she had opened the volumes to see upon what pas- 
sage her eyes would first fall. She had found some very 
hopeful and encouraging words; they were: " The Lord 
is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie 
down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still 
waters. ' ' 

In consequence of this oracular message, or from some 
other cause more natural, she had become quite cheerful 
and composed. And when she heard my proposal to take 
her to Brighton, where, I told her, I hoped to hear news 
regarding the Prince Imperial, she seemed to be delighted, 
and eager to go. 

We were very soon ready to start, and leaving the 
hotel, went down to the pier to embark on the steamer 
going to Southsea. The Princess Alice, which we found 
at the landing-stage, took us to the place mentioned, and 
thence by tramway we went on to Portsmouth. Here we 
bought tickets for Brighton; and, when we had come to 
this well-known watering-place, hearing there was a 
Queen's Hotel in the town — as this name seems always 
of good omen to me in England — I called a cab and di- 
rected the driver to take us to this hotel. My expec- 
tation was correct; here we found excellent accommoda- 
tions. 

Every arrangement having been made that the ladies 
should be comfortably provided for, I went out to look 
about and see if I could ascertain whether the news con- 
cerning the Prince, which I had seen in the paper at 
Ryde, was correct. The London evening papers, which 
had just arrived, confirmed the report that the Prince 
was in England; and soon after I met several friends on 
the Promenade, who, to my inquiries, replied that the 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 385 

Prince was actually at Hastings, and stopping at the 
Marine Hotel. 

My doubts being thus removed, I returned to the 
Queen's Hotel, and during dinner repeated what I had 
heard. This news had an electrical effect upon her Maj- 
esty. She rose up quickly, left the table, and insisted 
upon going immediately to meet her son. Seeing that all 
remonstrance would be in vain, I asked the porter of the 
hotel at what hour trains for St. Leonard's would be 
leaving, and learned that, if we wished to take the next 
train, we should have but a few minutes to spare. We 
therefore hastily got ready to leave the hotel, procured 
a closed cab, and arrived at the railway station just before 
the train left. 

The name St. Leonard's I had not chosen at random, 
for I really wished to go only as far as this place, which 
is the last station before arriving at Hastings. I thought 
it would not be wise for her Majesty to go to her son, 
it being rather his duty to come to her, after I had an- 
nounced to him her arrival in England and where he could 
meet her. Although, from the point of view of sentiment 
and aft'ection, it might be a matter of indifference as to 
where the meeting should take place, or whether the son 
should come to his mother or the mother should go to her 
son, I was certain that, in case her Majesty's arrival in 
England should become publicly known, her every step 
would be reported and commented upon in the newspapers, 
and I thought it was not to her interest at this time to 
become the subject of much publicity. 

Another reason why I desired her Majesty should not 
go to Hastings was the fact that the words " Marine 
Hotel," the name of the house where the Prince had 
taken rooms, suggested to my mind a kind of sailors' 
boarding-house, or hotel of the second-class. For this 
thought I beg the pardon of the most excellent people who 
kept the hotel, which proved to be all that could be wished, 



386 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 1 

and who treated the Prince, as well as the Empress and 
myself, with the greatest kindness from the moment of 
our arrival until our departure. 

Then again, before we left Brighton I knew nothing 
of Hastings, never having been there; but I had heard 
that in St. Leonard's there was a large and well-known 
hotel, which I thought would be a place where her Majesty 
could meet her son very properly and conveniently. Be- 
ing nevertheless afraid that I should meet with objections 
from her Majesty were I to advise her not to go on to 
Hastings, I kept my own counsel, and, without her knowl- 
edge, took tickets only as far as St. Leonard's. This de- 
vice proved, however, to be in vain, for her Majesty, on 
getting out of the train, inquired at once, " Is my son 
here? " 

" No — n-not exactly here," I stammered out, " b-but 
quite near — at — at the next station. As soon as we have 
secured rooms at the hotel I will go there and bring him 
over. ' ' 

Of this the Empress would not hear. And although 
I stated to her my apprehensions with respect to the com- 
ments of the press, and my doubts as to the respectability 
of the Marine Hotel, and finally drew her attention to 
the fact that it would be better to wait until next morn- 
ing for a meeting, as the evening was advanced and she 
was much fatigued, her Majesty was so anxious to see the 
Prince that she would not listen to my remonstrances, and 
insisted upon going by the very next train to Hastings. 
Upon inquiry, we found that this train would leave within 
twenty-five minutes, and not knowing Hastings was so 
near St. Leonard's that we could easily have driven there 
in a cab, we walked up and down the platform to pass 
away the time. The twenty-five minutes which we had 
to wait seemed a century, so to speak, to the Empress, 
she was in such haste, so nervously impatient, to see her 
son. And Madame Lebreton and I were greatly relieved, 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 387 

for her Majesty's sake, when the train that was to take 
us on entered the station. 

It was about ten o'clock when we arrived at Has- 
tings. Leaving the ladies in the Havelock Hotel, near 
the railway station, I went myself to the Marine Hotel, 
where the Prince Imperial was staying. When I asked 
the person in the office to announce me to his Imperial 
Highness, I was told that I would probably not be able 
to see the Prince that night, since it was already late, 
and his Highness had wished to retire early, on account 
of an indisposition from which he had suffered during 
the last few days. " If, however," said the clerk, " you 
choose to mount the stairs, you will find in the drawing- 
room some of the friends of the Prince, who no doubt 
can give you information about him." Hearing this, I 
went up to this room, and when the door was opened, 
I saw his Highness, surrounded by several gentlemen who 
had come with him from the Continent. As soon as the 
Prince saw me, he stepped quickly towards me, and ex- 
claimed : ' ' Have you any news of my mother 1 Where 
is she? Nobody can tell me whether she is still in Paris, 
or whether she has left France. It is now four days that 
no one has known what has become of her. And I am 
so anxious ! Do tell me if you have heard anything about 
her! " 

The rapidity with which the Prince spoke, scarcely 
waiting for an answer, indicated very clearly his deep 
concern for his mother's safety, the warmth of his affec- 
tion for her, and that now she was the principal subject 
of his thought. 

" Oh," I replied, as soon as I had a chance to speak, 
" I am sure your mother is safe. She is not in France; 
and I have just heard she is in England, having reached 
here some time to-day." 

" But where did she land? Where is she now? " 

" With friends, I understand, under whose protection 



388 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

she left Paris. If your Highness will wait a little while, 
I will make further inquiries, and perhaps, on my return, 
I shall be able to inform you positively where your mother 
now is." 

The Prince, as soon as I held out to him the hope of 
receiving news of his mother, was greatly delighted, and 
said he should most certainly not retire for the night until 
he had heard what I had to report. Promising that I 
would not keep him waiting long, I left the Prince, and 
returned to the Empress to announce to her that I had 
seen her son, and to arrange with her a time and place 
for their meeting. 

The reader may perhaps be surprised that I did not 
at once tell the Prince Imperial the whole truth. It was 
because I saw from the manner of the Prince, immediately 
he spoke to me, that to do so would not be expedient. 
He was, as all who knew him personally are aware, of 
a highly sensitive and emotional nature. He was then 
only fourteen years old, and, after his father had become 
a prisoner, had been hurried through Belgium to England, 
and from one excitement to another, without rest either 
of body or mind, until his nerves were in a state of ex- 
treme tension. I therefore thought it prudent to let him 
at first, only know that there was good reason to believe 
his mother was safe, and to prepare his mind for the 
reunion with her by suggesting to him that such a meeting 
might be expected very soon. 

On my way back I was still thinking how I could in- 
duce the Empress to receive her son at her own hotel, 
for I believed this to be the better plan, for reasons which 
I have stated above; but as soon as I found myself once 
more in the presence of her Majesty, I saw that no reason 
I could give for a postponement of the meeting would find 
favor with her. All her thought seemed entirely engrossed 
by the hopes and anticipations of this meeting. On enter- 
ing the room, I found her sitting in a chair in exactly the 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 389 

same position in which I had left her, with a little satchel 
in her hand, and waiting, apparently ready to start off 
at a moment's notice. The instant she saw me she sprang 
up, and rushing towards me, said : 

" Tell me, have you seen my son? Is he welU How 
does he look? " 

These and similar questions followed each other in 
quick succession. As soon as I had informed her Majesty 
that I had seen the Prince; that, with the exception of 
a slight cold, he seemed to be in good health; and had 
told her how anxious he had been to receive news of his 
mother, nothing could keep her any longer in the room; 
and half drawing me with her to the door, she hurried 
me out of the house and into the street, exclaiming: 
" Where is he? Let me go to him at once! " 

Running rather than walking through the streets, we 
directed our steps towards the Marine Hotel ; and in a few 
moments we — the Empress, Madame Lebreton, and my- 
self — stood in the office of the building which I had 
left scarcely half an hour before. When I announced to 
the hotel proprietor that we desired to see the Prince 
Imperial, he looked closely at the Empress, and taking her, 
as he afterward told me, on account of her having put the 
cape of her waterproof over her head, for a Sister of Char- 
ity, replied that it was too late ; that he thought the Prince 
had retired to his room and did not wish to see any one. 
We told him we did not think so; that, in any event, 
we would go up-stairs and see. But having reached the 
top of the staircase, an English valet-de-chamhre, who had 
evidently heard our conversation or guessed our intention, 
barred our way with the words : ' ' The Prince has gone 
to bed. If you wish to see him you will have to come 
another day." 

During my brief interview with the Prince I had ob- 
served that folding-doors separated the drawing-room from 
another room, which was probably, as I thought, in the 



390 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

private suite of his Highness. While the valet was still 
talking, I saw there was an entrance from the corridor 
where we stood into this room. Pushing by him, without 
speaking another word, I opened the door, and seeing at a 
glance that the room was occupied by the Prince, hurried 
her Majesty and Madame Lebreton into it, and leaving 
them, walked into the drawing-room where the Prince was 
standing. 

Upon encountering his inquiring look, I simply pointed 
to the door through which I had entered. He understood 
me, and in another moment he was in the presence of his 
mother. 

What a moment in the history of these two persons! 
This noble woman, who had kept up so bravely during 
the most trying hours of her flight, could restrain her 
emotion no longer. The tears of joy flowed abundantly, 
and her lips murmured words of thanks to Heaven, which 
had preserved to her that son who had been her pride and 
delight, and the sight of whom now caused her to forget 
all she had lost and all she had suffered. 

But was the past quite forgotten at this meeting? 
Had really all remembrance of those days of splendor and 
triumph vanished from her memory? 

No, indeed, the past could not have been forgotten by 
her; for although joy and gratitude filled her heart, as 
she pressed her child to her breast, this joy was mingled 
with sorrow. What pictures must have flashed across her 
mind, what thoughts have disturbed her soul? — the mem- 
ory of her happy childhood; her brilliant womanhood; 
the realization of her most daring wishes; her son, the 
heir to the glory and the throne of Napoleon ; and, at last, 
the downfall that came like a thunderbolt from a serene 
sky, annihilating all the splendor which for so many 
years had surrounded her, and leaving her a homeless, 
helpless woman, with her son, both fugitives in a foreign 
land. 



t 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 391 

However inarticulate her thoughts, she must have been 
vividly impressed by her immediate surroundings, and 
felt their deep significance, as she stood before me, em- 
bracing her son with tears of joy and sorrow in her eyes. 
The Prince, unable to control his emotion, sobbed as he 
rested in his mother's arms, and in broken sentences told 
how he had grieved for her, and how rejoiced he was to 
be with her once more. 

The spontaneous and impulsive manifestations of mater- 
nal and filial affection, of which I was a witness on this 
occasion, were, under the special circumstances, extremely 
touching, and I stepped out of the room, overcome by a 
feeling of sympathy and profound pity, leaving mother 
and son to themselves, alone. 

And what a meeting ! She, who only a few days before 
was the most exalted, the most envied sovereign in Europe, 
now deserted by all who had been proud to obtain a glance 
from her eye or a word from her lips, is unable to offer 
to her child, whose Imperial heritage has vanished, any- 
thing but Love — the imperishable love of a mother. 
What a drama ! And yet what a triumph ! For the 
glory of the world passeth away, and love endureth 
forever. 

After a while the Prince Imperial came to me and 
expressed in the warmest terms his thanks for my hav- 
ing restored his mother to him, for he had now learned 
from her that it was to me that she had gone for pro- 
tection when she found herself in the streets of Paris 
alone and helpless, and that I had brought her in 
safety to England. It was plainly to be seen, from his 
bright and happy face, that the loss of an Empire 
had troubled him much less than his anxiety for her 
whom he loved so dearly, and of whose fate he had so 
long been kept in ignorance. And those must have been 
bitter hours for the heir to the French Empire — his father 



S92 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

a prisoner in the enemy's country, his mother probably 
at the mercy of a mob, perhaps already a victim, while 
he himself was fleeing for safety to a foreign shore, and 
vainly trying to ascertain what had taken place since he 
had left the head-quarters of the French army ! 

But here, at Hastings, mother and son were reunited, 
and the first ray of sunlight pierced the darkness which 
for many days had covered the destiny of the Imperial 
family. 

Before the Empress had met her son, it was agreed be- 
tween us that she should return to Brighton after their 
meeting; but this plan, very naturally, was not executed. 
Mother and son had no wish to separate after they had 
found each other. On this account former plans were 
changed, and the Empress and the Prince Imperial re- 
mained together in Hastings. 

It was at a rather late hour that I left the Marine Hotel 
and returned to the Havelock Hotel, where we had tem- 
porarily stopped on arriving at Hastings. On the follow- 
ing morning, when I went to the Marine Hotel to learn 
the Empress' wishes, to my great regret I found her con- 
fined to her bed from exhaustion, and suffering also from 
a severe cold. Her Majesty had already a slight cold when, 
she came to my house on September 4th, and it was no 
wonder that her exposure on our journey through France, 
and during the rough night on the Channel, had aggra- 
vated it. Besides, the continued excitement and loss of 
sleep, and the anxiety to which she had been subjected 
for many days, and weeks even, were too much for human 
strength to support ; and although she had kept up bravely 
under the most severe trials, and had not given way while 
she was sustained by the hope of seeing her son, now that 
this most fervent wish of her heart had been realized, a 
reaction followed, which kept her in her room for several 
days. 

Her Majesty's arrival in England was now publicly 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 393 

announced, and friends began to gather about her — the 
Duke and Duchess de Mouchy, M. de Lavalette, the Prin- 
cess Murat, and others. But the situation in France, which 
grew more serious from day to day, made it probable that 
her Majesty's sojourn in England would last for weeks, 
perhaps for months; and possibly the thought may have 
already occurred to her that England might become her 
permanent home. However this may have been, Has- 
tings was not at this time a desirable place of residence 
for the Empress. There were too many people coming 
and going, and it was also the rendezvous of too much 
fashion and too much curiosity. The Empress very soon 
began to be annoyed, and she expressed to me a wish that 
I would obtain for her, as quickly as possible, a suitable 
residence, where she might feel that she had some personal 
freedom, and where she could conveniently receive her 
friends. 

On Sunday, the 11th, I received a telegram, from Mrs. 
Evans, to whom I had reported our arrival at Ryde soon 
after we landed there. In this telegram she informed me 
that she, in company with Doctor and Miss Sharpless, 
old friends from Philadelphia, who had been with us 
at the Hotel du Casino in Deauville, would, coming 
by way of Dieppe, arrive at Newhaven on Wednes- 
day morning, September 14th. And there I went to 
meet her. The boat came in several hours behind time, 
after a terribly rough passage. It was crowded with 
refugees, men, women, and children all huddled together, 
everybody sick, large numbers on deck, drenched and 
looking utterly miserable. My poor wife had been ' ' dread- 
fully ill," but quickly recovered on coming ashore. She 
accompanied me to Hastings, where we took rooms at the 
Albion Hotel. 

As soon as we were settled there we m.ade excursions 
into the country almost every day, visiting the villas which 
were to let, and trying to obtain a suitable residence for 



394 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

the Empress. I had, when this matter was first mentioned 
to me, entered into correspondence with a number of house- 
agents; and a residence in Torquay, which I visited, I 
found very attractive. Indeed, I was so convinced it left 
nothing to be desired as a temporary home for the Em- 
press that I engaged to take it, conditionally. I was, how- 
ever, obliged to cancel the arrangement which I had made, 
her Majesty having expressed to me a desire to live not 
far from London, as a matter of convenience to the friends 
who might wish to visit her; because, she said, " I wish 
to save them a long journey, and to many of them, also, 
the expense of going to a place so far from France might 
be embarrassing." 

This generous consideration on the part of the Em- 
press is in very striking contrast with the behavior of 
many of those in whose friendship at that time she still 
believed. The years have come and gone, but they have 
never thought it their duty or found it convenient to visit 
their exiled sovereign, who always felt so kindly towards 
them. 

One humble, simple friend, however, did not hesitate 
to go to Hastings as soon as she heard that her former 
mistress and the Prince Imperial had arrived there. This 
person was Miss Shaw, the faithful nurse of the young 
Prince — " Nana," as he, when a child, used to call her. 
She had remained in the Tuileries as long as she had been 
permitted to do so, and then she left for England; for, 
although she had no idea of what had become of the Em- 
press or the Prince, she nevertheless felt sure she should 
find his Imperial Highness in that country. To her great 
joy, on arriving at Dover she heard that the Prince, with 
Count Clary, had passed through Dover, coming from 
Belgium. On inquiring, she was informed he had gone 
to Hastings. Immediately she hastened to this place, and 
thus, as early as the 10th, she was able to see again " her 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 395 

boy," as she always called the Prince, her affection for 
whom absorbed her whole soul. 

This faithful woman had been sent to Paris by Sir 
Charles Locock, after the Empress' confinement, at the 
special request of her Majesty, the Queen of Great Brit- 
ain; and her tender love for the Imperial child, and her 
unalterable devotion to the Imperial family, had fully 
justified the recommendations which had been given her. 
From the moment she entered the Palace of the Tuileries 
until the death of the Prince Imperial, all her energy, her 
whole life, was devoted to the welfare of the boy who had 
been confided to her care. She had in a short time gained 
the entire confidence of the Emperor and Empress, who 
wished her to remain as a guardian of the Prince in the 
palace when her duties as nurse were no longer required. 

She not only had a care for the bodily welfare of 
her trust, but she tried to instil into the heart of the boy 
all the noble principles which are needed by one who is 
to become the ruler of a great nation; and she had also 
made it her duty to watch over the health of his soul. 
She had strictly kept him to the observance of his religious 
duties, which was the more remarkable, as she, being a 
Protestant, had charge of a child brought up in the Cath- 
olic faith. And while it was easy for her to develop in 
the open and impressionable mind of the young Prince a 
clear and abiding sense of right and of wrong, she did 
not fail to cultivate in him that reverence and respect for 
truth, and for law, which she herself felt as the result of 
her own English education. 

"When this excellent woman, who had always had an 
important voice in the councils of the Imperial family, if 
anything regarding the future of the Prince was to be de- 
cided, heard the sad news of the premature death of the 
young soldier in Zululand, she said to me: " He was too 
good for this world. God has saved him from severer 
trials, and I shall soon go to him." 



396 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Her apprehension proved to have been correct. The 
faithful nurse only outlived her foster-child by three years. 
She died in 1882. 

Besides Miss Shaw and the persons whose names I 
have mentioned, there came to Hastings very few visitors. 
Those courtiers who had formerly been daily guests at the 
Palace of the Tuileries, did not come over to England until 
much later, after her Majesty had taken up her residence 
at Chislehurst. 

Camden Place, Chislehurst, which afterward became so 
well known as the home of the Imperial family, I discov- 
ered by a fortunate accident, after searching many days 
in vain for a residence for the Empress in the neigh- 
borhood of London. Although I had seen a considerable 
number of fine houses, scarcely one of them seemed to me 
to be perfectly suitable or desirable, either on account of 
the locality or the accommodations, or on account of the 
conditions which the landlord wanted to impose upon the 
tenant, and occasionally these were even embarrassing, as, 
for example, when letters were addressed to me by gentle- 
men placing at her Majesty's disposal their houses and 
villas, free of every charge. It is scarcely necessary to 
say that these offers were most decidedly but courteously 
refused by the Empress. 

In a conversation which I once had with the Emperor, 
he told me that some of the most agreeable days during 
his long sojourn in England had been passed at Tunbridge 
Wells. He praised the beautiful scenery, and spoke of 
the magnificent trees which he had seen there, and mani- 
fested a strong predilection for the place. The remem- 
brance of this conversation induced me to see if it was 
possible to find a residence for the Imperial family at 
Tunbridge Wells ; for we all hoped that the Emperor would 
soon be permitted by the Prussian Government to leave 
Wilhelmshohe and rejoin his wife and son in England. 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 397 

I consequently went to Tunbridge Wells, and succeeded 
in finding a place there which I thought would probably 
meet all the immediate requirements of the Imperial 
household; but just before speaking to the owner upon 
the subject, a gentleman mentioned to me Camden Place, 
at Chislehurst. He described it as a large and beautiful 
country-seat, close to London and yet secluded, saying it 
was just what I wanted, but that, unfortunately, it was 
not to let. Believing from the description he gave me 
that the place was really a very desirable one, and not 
allowing his last remark to deter me — after having heard 
that Chislehurst was so near London that it could be 
reached in twenty minutes from Charing Cross station — 
Mrs. Evans and I took tickets for this place. 

On arriving at Chislehurst station, I hailed the first 
conveyance I saw, and a few minutes later we halted at 
the gate in front of Camden Place. At the entrance, Mrs. 
Taylor, the lodge-keeper, received us, and I asked her a few 
questions about the house. She replied that Camden Place 
could not be rented, and expressed doubt as to whether it 
could be visited. Hearing me, however, speak a few words 
in French to Mrs. Evans, she seemed to reconsider the 
matter, and exclaimed: 

'' Oh, if you speak French you may perhaps be ad- 
mitted into the house. There is a gentleman living here 
— Mr. Foder — who also speaks French, and if you would 
like to see him I will go and call him." 

With these words, after inviting us to come into the 
lodge, the lodge-keeper hastened to the house, and before 
long returned in company with a man who informed us 
that he had charge of the property, which belonged to a 
Mr. Strode. After we had conversed for a few moments, 
he very kindly offered to show us over the place — an offer 
we gladly accepted. 

The house was a large, well-constructed building, built 
of brick and stone, with projecting wings in front, sur- 
27 



398 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

mounted by balustraded parapets. The fagade was well 
exposed and very handsome. The house was approached 
by a fine sweep of roadway, and contained, as I ascertained 
on inquiry, several large living-rooms, twenty or more bed- 
rooms, and the offices for a full establishment. The stable 
accommodation also was ample. I saw at once that the 
grounds were quite extensive, and handsomely laid out. 
The main avenue from the gate to the house was lined 
with elms and beeches, and the broad stretches of well- 
kept lawn were broken here and there by foliage plants 
and beds of flowers, and were decorated with statuary; 
while, not far from the house, a massive group of cedars 
branched out conspicuously and threw into relief the body 
of the building. The impression produced upon us, as we 
passed through the park, was extremely pleasing ; the color 
was so soft and yet so varied, the calm, the restfulness, so 
complete, that the place seemed to be indeed an ideal re- 
treat for one seeking a surcease from the turmoil and 
trouble of the world. Upon entering the house, we were 
surprised to find in it so many articles of French manu- 
facture. The long hall lighted by a skylight, the large 
drawing-room, the fine staircase leading to the floor above, 
and the arrangement of the very handsome rooms, with 
the furniture and other fittings, gave me at once the im- 
pression of being in a veritable French chateau. I was 
consequently not surprised when I was told that some of 
the furniture came from the Chateau of Bercy; but it was 
certainly remarkable, as was discovered some time after- 
ward, that several of the pieces of carved mahogany in 
the dining-room were exactly similar to a number that, on 
the demolition of this chateau, had been purchased by the 
Empress at the same auction sale of the woodwork and 
other fixtures, and had been placed in the residence she 
had built in Paris for her sister, the Duchess of Albe. 
Moreover, the building was beautifully situated ; in a word, 
it seemed to me more attractive than any I had visited 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 399 

during the previous days, and pleased me greatly. I 
therefore, observing the excellent French taste with which 
Camden House was furnished, remarked to Mr. Foder that 
it afforded me much pleasure to see myself again, so to say, 
in a French interieur. Then, leading the conversation to 
France itself, and speaking of the misfortunes which had 
so recently befallen that nation, and of the sad conse- 
quences which they must have, not only for that beautiful 
land but also for many of its inhabitants, and especially 
for the Imperial family, I at last said it was for this fam- 
ily, some of whose members were then in England, that 
I was seeking a residence. The conversation which fol- 
lowed led in a few moments to the plain statement that 
our object in coming here was to inquire if Camden Place 
could possibly be obtained for her Majesty, the Empress 
of the French. When Mr. Foder heard this, he told me 
that although Camden Place was not to be leased, he be- 
lieved that Mr. Strode, whose French sympathies were 
very strong, and who had often spoken with admiration 
of the Imperial family, would gladly place his property 
at the disposal of the Empress and her son, without ask- 
ing any remuneration for it. 

To this remark I replied that many such offers had 
already been made and refused; but that if the house 
could be rented, I would like to engage it, as I considered 
it the most suitable of all I had seen, and was sure her 
Majesty would be pleased with my choice, not only because 
the house was conveniently near London, but also on ac- 
count of the extent and disposition of the grounds about 
it, and the arrangement of the interior, which even to its 
furnishing was French; besides, Camden Place was near 
a Catholic church, and this, I knew, would be very agree- 
able to the Emprass, who always faithfully attended the 
services of her church, wherever and whenever it was 
possible for her to do so. 

Thereupon Mr. Foder kindly proposed to go to London 



400 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

by the next train, to state the case to Mr. Strode, whom he 
said he was sure to find at the Garrick Club that night. 
This proposal I accepted with thanks, and after leaving 
my address, Mrs. Evans and I returned to Hastings. 

The next day, September 22d, I again took Mrs. Evans 
to Chislehurst to see the house in question. We examined 
it very thoroughly. My wife thought it really ' ' palatial, ' ' 
and the situation " exquisite," so calm and restful were 
the surroundings. We afterward went on together to Lon- 
don, where we lunched with Mr. Strode. 

At a late hour the same evening I received a despatch 
from Mr. Foder, making an appointment with me to meet 
him at Chislehurst the following morning; and upon ar- 
riving at Camden Place the next day at the appointed 
hour, we heard that Mr. Strode, who had been obliged to 
remain in London, had consented to let his property to her 
Majesty. 

This was welcome news, not only to me but to Madame 
Lebreton and Mademoiselle d'Albe, the Empress' niece, 
who, having come up that morning from Hastings to visit 
the place, had both been greatly pleased with the house 
and the situation. We therefore — Mr. Foder and I — at 
once drew up a lease by which Camden Place was to be 
rented for a given time, at a given rate, and on terms 
entirely satisfactory to all parties. 

A few weeks later, on my last visit to Camden Place 
before leaving for the Continent, Mr. Foder took me to 
the railway station in a light carriage, which was drawn 
by a very fine but rather unruly horse. We proceeded 
at a rapid pace, evidently to the delight of the owner of 
the horse, and one could not deny that the animal pos- 
sessed remarkable qualities and was very spirited; but its 
gait was unsteady, it was apparently imperfectly broken, 
and it had an eye that indicated a fiery and capricious 
temperament. Seeing that Mr. Foder was greatly pleased 
with the spirit and action of the animal, and thinking he 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 401 

might desire to have the horse display its points before 
other visitors, and possibly the new occupants of Camden 
Place, I said to him, when bidding him good-by: " Mr. 
Foder, I am greatly obliged to you for bringing me to the 
station, and am especially thankful that I have got here 
safe and sound ; but you will do me a favor by promising 
me not to offer your horse either to her Majesty or to 
the Prince Imperial, for I fear some accident might hap- 
pen. ' ' 

" The horse is high-spirited, but perfectly safe," he 
replied ; * ' nevertheless, I will make the promise you de- 
sire, to remove your apprehensions, which I assure you 
are quite groundless." 

Not long after, the intelligence reached me that, while 
being driven one day to the station, this horse became un- 
controllable, and, dashing down the road, ran against a 
tree and upset the carriage, throwing ]\Ir. Foder to the 
ground and killing him on the spot. 

" Oh ! "I then said to myself, " it was perhaps well that 
I obtained that promise. How easily her Majesty or the 
young Prince might have met with a similar fate! " 

Alas, no word of caution could break the spell of fate 
that rested upon Camden Place ! 

Going on to Hastings, I went to the Empress, who had 
given me full power to settle matters with Mr. Strode, and 
had consented to indorse all my arrangements without 
personally inspecting the property, and I informed her that 
I had come to an agreement with the landlord of Camden 
Place, and that a new home was ready for her. 

Her Majesty received this announcement with the great- 
est satisfaction, and told me that she would like to leave 
for her new residence as early as possible. Having spoken 
to the station-master of her Majesty's intentions, the next 
morning a message from the railway office arrived at the 
Marine Hotel, announcing that orders had been received 



1 



402 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

from London to place a special train at the disposal of the 
Empress, and those who should accompany her to Chisle- 
hurst. 

Her Majesty, as soon as she saw me, told me of this 
communication, and said she could not accept the offer, 
and asked me to be kind enough to tell the officials that 
she preferred to make use of the ordinary passenger-train 
in the afternoon. I stated the Empress' choice to the sta- 
tion-master, only requesting him, as a small favor, that, 
after all the passengers had taken their seats, and after 
the doors of the carriages had been closed, the train 
should remain for a few minutes in the station and await 
the arrival of the Empress and the persons accompany- 
ing her. 

This favor was kindly granted, and enabled her Majesty 
at the moment of her departure to take her seat without 
being annoyed by the curiosity of the passengers. 

When our party, which consisted of the Empress, the 
Prince Imperial, Mademoiselle d'Albe, Madame Lebre- 
ton, two gentlemen who had come with the Prince Im- 
perial from the Continent, and myself, arrived at Chisle- 
hurst, we found at the station, in consequence of an order 
which I had given the day previous, two " four-wheel- 
ers," as the large hackney-coaches are called in England, 
in readiness for us; and, by the tact and kindness of 
the station-master of the place, these vehicles were placed 
at the side opposite the one from which the passengers 
usually alight; so that we were able to enter our car- 
riages without having to pass through the waiting-room. 
A few moments later we drove up to Camden Place, 
the residence which the Empress took possession of on 
Saturday, September 24th, 1870, and where so many mem- 
orable events in the history of the Imperial family after- 
ward happened. 

Soon after our arrival, an excellent dinner was served 
in the large and very elegant dining-room, but no one 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 403 

seemed to take much interest in it. Nor was the conversa- 
tion very lively or engaging, as might well be expected 
under the circumstances, and we all retired to our respec- 
tive rooms at an early hour. 

The Empress, on the first night, occupied the large 
front room on the second floor, directly over the drawing- 
room, while the Prince Imperial slept in the room which 
later became the Emperor's cabinet; and I had the honor 
of occupying the chamber which afterward was used as 
a study by the Prince. 

I shall always retain a vivid remembrance of that first 
night in the new residence of her Majesty. 

I could sleep but very little. The chamber was musty 
and chilly, for it had not been occupied for a long time, 
and the walls were full of moisture. Although the room 
was comfortably furnished and its appearance cheerful, I 
felt depressed and gloomy, and realized more fully than 
I ever had before the significance of the change which had 
come over the fortunes of her Majesty. This was quite 
natural. The narrow quarters, the discomforts, whatever 
had previously happened to us, had been to me only the 
incidents of a journey; while with our arrival at Chisle- 
hurst a new life began for the Empress, and everything 
suggested a long sojourn here — in fact, that the home of 
her Majesty was to be no more in the Palace of the Tuil- 
eries, but at Camden Place. 

The thought of this was sufficient to prevent sleep from 
coming to the eyes of a friend who sympathized deeply 
with the sovereign on whom he had seen Fortune lavish 
her most splendid gifts, the victim now of unparalleled 
disaster, but with a soul rising superior to every blow of 
Fate, brave and great-hearted still. 

I was indeed glad when the morning came and the 
first rays of the sun were entering through the windows. 
The splendid light of the rising sun fills the heart with 
cheerful thoughts, and a new day is like the opening of 



404 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

a new chapter in our fortunes. So when I looked out, and 
saw the glittering shrubbery, and the sheen of the grassy 
lawn on which the dew had fallen heavily during the 
night, I seemed to feel that this quiet, beautiful Sunday 
morning was a harbinger of brighter and happier days 
for the mother who had at last found a refuge and a home 
for herself and her son on English soil. 

The Empress awoke refreshed by repose, lightsome of 
heart, with a smiling face, and full of gratitude to God 
for having shielded her from danger, and full of hope in 
the future of her son. 

Her first act on this day was to visit the church across 
the Common, to render thanks for infinite mercies and to 
invoke the Divine blessing. We all accompanied her and 
the Prince Imperial to the place where, at eleven o'clock. 
High Mass was to be celebrated. The small community 
who came regularly to this service had already taken their 
seats, and there was no place reserved for us, for no 
notice of the arrival of the Empress had reached Monsig- 
nor Goddard, the clergyman, or the inhabitants of Chisle- 
hurst. We went into the church by the back entrance, 
and finding no seat unoccupied, but seeing a few vacant 
benches without backs, took our places on these. And so 
the Empress, the first time she attended religious service 
at Chislehurst, sat with the poor of the parish. None of 
the worshipers had any suspicion of the presence among 
them of so illustrious a personage. 

Times change. Visitors at the little chapel at Chisle- 
hurst — " St. Mary's Church," as it is called — have since 
often seen her Majesty in the place of honor. Many per- 
sons of high birth visited it in after-years. And it finally 
gained a gloomy renown as the temporary sepulchre of 
the unfortunate Emperor and his beloved son. 

Camden Place took its name from Camden, the anti- 
quary, who lived there and died there. It was for a time 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 405 

the property of Lord Camden, but was afterward purchased 
by Mr. Thomas Bonar, a wealthy city merchant, and was 
subsequently sold to Mr. and Mrs. Rowles, of Stratton 
Street, London. After passing through the hands of two 
or three other persons, it became the property of Mr. N. 
W. J. Strode, of London, the present owner. 

Camden Place has had a remarkable history. 

I was rather surprised as well as pleased to learn, soon 
after taking a lease of the property, that while the Rowles 
family were living here Prince Louis Bonaparte was a 
frequent visitor to the house, and that the place was well 
known to him, and agreeably associated in his mind with 
the memory of several charming people with whom he was 
intimate during those years of exile in England, when, 
to use his own words, he ' ' was so happy and so free. ' ' It 
has even been said the Prince so fell in love with Miss 
Emily Rowles that they were for a time actually engaged 
to be married. This much is certain: the lady having 
afterward married the Marquis Campana, who became in- 
volved in serious difficulties with the Papal Government, 
the Prince, who had now become Emperor, gave to her 
husband his powerful protection. And there is no doubt 
that Camden Place was remembered by his Majesty then, 
and to the end of his life, as the scene of a romantic attach- 
ment that adds interest to the sad story of his own residence 
at Chislehurst. 

But a shadow passed over the house not long after its 
occupancy by the Rowles family. Mrs. Rowles was an 
Italian, a woman of wit, great beauty, and distinction, who 
had many admirers, and many misfortunes also. While 
living in Stratton Street, early in her married life, a bril- 
liant young lawyer, rising rapidly in his profession, be- 
came so infatuated with this lady that he thought he could 
not live without her, and so destroyed himself; and while 
living at Camden Place, Mr. Rowles for some reason grew 
so despondent, that he, it would seem, came to the conclu- 



406 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

sion that he could not live even with her, and thereupon 
he killed himself. 

A little later, as part of the earlier history of the 
house, a story was told me that shocked me greatly at the 
time, and left a sinister impression upon my mind. 

On the morning of May 31st, 1813, the owner of Cam- 
den Place, Mr. Bonar, was found dead upon the floor of 
his bedroom, and his wife dying in her bed near by. Each 
had apparently been beaten to death with some heavy in- 
strument. Their skulls were crushed, their bodies horribly 
bruised and mangled, and they lay weltering in their blood. 
It was evident, from the appearance of the room, the fur- 
niture, and the clothing of Mr. Bonar, who was a very 
strong man, that the murderer had accomplished his pur- 
pose only after a terrible struggle. Not a servant in the 
house had heard a sound; not an article of value had 
been removed; the Bonars were not known to have an 
enemy in the world. Who could have committed the mur- 
der, and the motive that prompted it, were alike mys- 
teries. One or two arrests were made, but alibis were suc- 
cessfully proved. Finally suspicion fell on a footman 
employed by the family, who bore an excellent reputation. 
When brought before the Lord Mayor, the man — Nicholson 
by name — at first denied, but afterward confessed his guilt. 
When asked why he had killed his employers, his answer 
was that he bore them no ill-will ; that the idea of robbing 
them never entered his mind ; but that on waking up about 
three o'clock in the morning, he was seized with an irre- 
sistible impulse to kill his master and mistress; and that, 
winding a sheet about him as a disguise, and taking a 
heavy iron poker which was lying by the grate, he went up- 
stairs to the large sleeping-room occupied by the Bonars, 
entered it, and having first struck Mrs. Bonar a power- 
ful blow on the head, aimed another at Mr. Bonar, who 
immediately sprang up and grappled with him. After a 
desperate struggle that lasted ten or fifteen minutes, Mr. 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 407 

Bonar fell exhausted; and " having beaten him over the 
head with the poker, I left him," he said, '' groaning on 
the floor." 

Nicholson was tried at the Maidstone Assizes for petty 
treason, the indictment curiously averring that he, being 
a servant, had traitorously murdered his master and mis- 
tress. His condemnation and execution followed as a 
matter of course. 

When the rope was round his neck, as he stood on the 
scaffold, he was asked if he had anything to say. Clasp- 
ing his shackled hands together as closely as he could, his 
last words were, " As God is in heaven, it was a momen- 
tary thought, as I have declared before — " and before he 
could speak another word, the drop fell. 

A curious detail remains to be told. A son of Mr. 
Bonar, upon whom at first suspicion fell, becoming almost 
insane in consequence of this shocking murder, and of the 
fact that any one could for a moment suppose him to be 
a parricide, passed most of his time in the cemetery at the 
grave of his parents. Here he caused a costly tomb to be 
erected ; and directing in his will that his own body should 
be laid by the side of his parents, had cut in the stone 
the words, " It is I ; be not afraid. ' ' 

As often happens, the facts are forgotten and the fic- 
tion survives in legend. So, in this case, the imaginary 
crime, the fancied guilt of the unhappy son hovers about 
this enigmatical, if scriptural, inscription. 

The Prince Imperial, whose curiosity was moved by 
it when he first saw it, seemed to doubt whether it was 
to be considered as the confession of a parricide, who had 
used the phrase the better to effect his purpose; or as the 
utterance of a compassionate son, who feared lest the re- 
opening of the tomb to receive his body might alarm his 
beloved in their last repose. And he often put this ques- 
tion to his companions as a conundrum. 

But on the floor of the principal bedroom — the one 



408 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

occupied by the Empress — and on the handsome stairway 
of Camden Place, dark stains and the prints of bloody 
feet long remained, the ghastly witnesses of a crime, to 
haunt the mind with ghostly figures in the silent watches 
of the night; and a presage, as it were, of events to come 
sixty or more years later, when two other dead bodies 
were to lie in the same house — those of a father and his 
son, each also the victim of a tragedy. 

For two or three weeks, affairs relating principally to 
the establishment of her Majesty in her new home kept 
me at Chislehurst, or in its immediate neighborhood, I 
saw the Empress daily, and was surprised to observe how 
rapidly she recovered her health and spirits, and adjusted 
herself to her new surroundings; and this in spite of the 
fact that she was far from being free from much personal 
anxiety and very grave political responsibilities. But one 
of her most characteristic traits has always been her power 
to put aside the subjects she no longer cares to think about, 
and to give herself up freely and fully to the impressions 
and suggestions of the present moment. The conversations 
I had with her generally related to non-political affairs. 
But however commonplace the subject-matter might chance 
to be, I observed with great pleasure that it was now almost 
sure to be made the occasion of some original comment, 
or of some bright sally that brought a smile to the lips 
of those who heard it, and to which the laughter in her 
own eyes was the sympathetic and charming response — 
in a word, that her Majesty was herself again. And yet 
there was a seemingly ineradicable sadness at the bottom 
of her heart that gave a color to her thoughts, and that 
from time to time revealed itself when least expected. 

One afternoon, when we were walking in the Park, she 
stopped suddenly, and looking across the lawn for a mo- 
ment, exclaimed : ' ' How beautiful is the sward, so green, 
so smooth! When in the country at this season of the 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 409 

year, one loves to walk with one 's eyes on the ground ; for 
the sky is rarely clear, but the grass is always fair and 
delightful to look at, and so restful to the eyes. Indeed, 
the country would seem to be the place to which we should 
take our sorrows. Overwhelmed as I am with anxiety, 
with a strange and terrible sense of loneliness, I feel like 
looking down; and after I have done so for a while, it 
gives me such relief ! How different it was with me when 
a girl in Spain! I walked then with head erect, and 
looked at the cloudless sky. The earth beneath was less 
attractive to me in those days when all before me and 
above me was so bright. But I was young then, and that, 
no doubt, is why I felt as I did." Then turning quickly, 
as if coming to herself, she said: " How wrong it is for 
me to complain! I, who have had so much, what right 
have I to complain now? I should think of those who 
have never had any of the privileges and gifts that 
I have enjoyed. And those who have lost much should 
not forget that they have had much, and that Fortune 
has been more generous to them than to those who have 
had nothing." 

As we continued our walk about the grounds, the con- 
versation drifted from one subject to another, until mention 
was made of some of the ladies who were conspicuous at 
the Court between 1855-60. " I can never forget," she 

said, " the impression made upon me by Madame S 

when I first saw her; she was a most amiable and lively 
woman, and extremely beautiful." '* Yes," I remarked, 
' ' and still is ; but she cannot bear to think that she is grow- 
ing old; she makes herself quite unhappy about it." The 
Empress' reply was: " When those who have been called 
handsome begin to lose their good looks from the natural 
effects of time, they do wrong to make themselves unhappy 
about it. The women who lose their remarkable beauty 
as they grow old, are better off than their less-favored sis- 
ters, for these have failed to find in life what the others 



410 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

have had — admiration. When old age comes on, handsome 
women should accept it and be thankful for the past. ' ' 

But how few are willing to do this! I have known 
many of the most beautiful women in Europe, and of all 
the celebrities I have known or seen, at one time or another, 
during my long acquaintance in court circles, very few 
indeed have ever learned how to grow old becomingly. The 
contrary has generally been the case. They have been 
distressed at the inevitable changes time was producing, 
and, forgetting that a graceful old age is still charming, 
too often have only succeeded in making themselves ridicu- 
lous by their vain attempts to repair the irreparable 
ravages that are wrought by the advance of the remorseless 
years. 

I do not remember if during this conversation any ref- 
erence was made to health as among the things for which 
we ought to be thankful. Yet I have often thought, and it 
recurs to me as I am writing these lines, that one of the 
Empress' greatest and most valuable personal possessions 
is the splendid health she has always enjoyed. It is this 
which enabled her during her Regency, and when she fell 
from power, and has enabled her since, in the hours of her 
greatest misfortune, to support physical exertions, and ex- 
citements, and suffering, and sorrow, that would have 
crushed to the earth a woman of less vitality and organic 
vigor and resiliency. From her girlhood until recent years 
the Empress has led a life of great activity — seemingly 
quite insensible to fatigue; and, even now (1897), although 
in her eighth decade, she finds her principal pleasure in 
journeys, or on her yacht ; or, when at home, in daily drives 
and walks. It is only a few months ago, on my last visit to 
Farnborough, that her Majesty invited me to walk with 
her. The time passed pleasantly and quickly as always 
on these occasions, when everything about us was agreeable 
to the eye and suggestive of that light comment and talk 
for which her Majesty still possesses so rare a talent. But 



MEETING OF MOTHER AND SON 411 

if, on returning, I found the distance we had gone without 
a rest something more than a surprise to me — if, in a word, 
I discovered that her Majesty was the better walker of the 
two, I could only the more admire the firmness of her step 
as she entered the vestibule of her residence after this, in 
my opinion, rather too long a walk. And when she passed 
before the fine picture of Winterhalter, that hangs upon one 
of the walls of the vestibule, and in which she is represented 
seated among the ladies of her Court, the contrast between 
the painted portrait and the living subject, dressed in the 
deepest black, as she has always dressed since her widow- 
hood, struck me very forcibly — the freshness and brilliancy 
of the coloring in the picture serving to bring into full re- 
lief the striking figure of this great lady as she looks to-day, 
and to which the advancing years have added the dignity 
and distinction of age. 




CHAPTER XV 

I VISIT THE EMPEROR — DIPLOMACY 

I leave England — Queen Augusta — The prison and the prisoner — 
"The courtesy of the age" — My visit to the Emperor at Wil- 
helmshohe — I visit the prison camps and hospitals — My return 
to England — France now isolated — The promise of the Czar — 
The Empress endeavors to limit the consequences of the French 
military disasters — She writes to the Emperor Alexander — She 
intercedes on behalf of the Republican Minister for Foreign Affairs 
— Count Bismarck is embarrassed — Diplomatic notes. 

\N October 8th, as soon as her Majesty was fairly- 
settled in her new residence, I left England for 
the purpose of going to Wilhelmshohe to see 
the Emperor. I wished to give him the latest 
news from Chislehurst, and also an account of what 
I had done to effect the escape of her Majesty from 
Paris and from the jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Gov- 
ernment, Although I, as an American, and as the Presi- 
dent of the Sanitary Committee in Paris and a member 
of the International Red Cross Society, not only had the 
rights of a neutral, but was protected also by special priv- 
ileges, I did not wish to expose myself to any delay on the 
way ; and being afraid that my presence in Germany might 
create suspicion, I first went to Berlin, hoping to facilitate, 
through the mediation of Queen Augusta, my meeting 
with the French Emperor. To my great dismay, on ar- 
riving in the Prussian capital I learned that her Majesty 
had left the same evening for Homburg, and that I would 
be compelled to go there if I wished to see her. I at once 
returned to the railway station and took the express leav- 
412 



I VISIT THE EMPEROR 413 

ing for that well-known watering-place. When I arrived 
there and announced my name at the castle, I was im- 
mediately admitted into the Queen's presence. That au- 
gust lady received me with the words, " I know all that 
has happened, and what you have done, and I thank you 
sincerely for it." 

I was astonished to find that her Majesty already knew 
so much of what I had intended to communicate to her. 
And when I gave expression to my surprise, she told me 
that she had heard of our flight, and the circumstances 
connected with it, directly from the Queen of England. 
She also said that as soon as she had received news of 
the arrival of the Empress at Ryde and of the manner 
in which her escape had been accomplished, she had felt 
sure I would go to see the Emperor the moment I was 
at liberty to do so. She congratulated me on having 
been chosen by Providence to do what had so happily 
been accomplished, and on my being able now to carry 
welcome news and messages from the Empress to the 
prisoner of Wilhelmshohe, and told me that she would 
do all in her power to enable me to communicate with 
him without loss of time. After I had taken dinner at 
the castle, I entered one of the Court carriages, and, on 
arriving at the railway station, found that a seat had al- 
ready been taken for me in the train. At the same time 
a telegram had been sent by her Majesty's secretary to 
Wilhelmshohe, announcing the hour I should arrive, and 
asking, in ease there should be no room in the palace it- 
self, that apartments might be prepared for me in a neigh- 
boring hotel. 

I left Homburg greatly moved at the thought that I 
was about to see the Emperor Napoleon III. a prisoner 
in the land of the enemy of the French. 

On the 5th of September, at 9.50 p.m., the Emperor had 
arrived at Cassel in a special train, consisting of only two 
28 



414 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

carriages. An eye-witness who was present at the railway 
station at the time mentioned, says: " It was nearly ten 
o'clock when the passengers alighted. After a few serv- 
ants and subaltern attendants had left the carriages, a 
short, stout gentleman descended. He wore a dark over- 
coat and the uniform of a French general. Slowly walk- 
ing to an equipage that stood in waiting for him, he took 
a seat in it with another person and drove off. This 
gentleman Avas Louis Napoleon, two days before Emperor 
of the French and so recently commander of a great 
army, who, having been reduced by the catastrophe of 
Sedan and its consequences to the position of a prisoner 
of war, had arrived at his place of reclusion." 

In order not to expose the dethroned sovereign, who 
was suffering severely from bodily infirmities, to too long 
a journey, the generous conqueror had chosen for his cap- 
tive as a residence one of the most splendid palaces in 
Germany. 

Only a few miles from Cassel, built by the Electors 
of Westphalia, Wilhelmshohe is remarkable on account of 
the extent and beauty of its gardens, which are so em- 
bellished (not always in good taste, but at enormous 
expense) with cascades and fountains, colossal statues and 
flights of steps, that the place has been called the Versailles 
of Germany. The palace itself covers a large area, is 
richly decorated, and is filled with valuable works of art — 
paintings, ancient tapestries, and statues in bronze and 
marble. In 1870 it was completely furnished, just as it 
had been left by the Elector of Hanover when in 1866 
he became the prisoner of the King of Prussia. And here 
one of the uncles of Napoleon III., King Jerome of West- 
phalia, had resided. But, in the overbearing mood of a 
conqueror, Jerome had shocked the good people of Cassel 
and its neighborhood by changing the name of the place 
and calling it Napoleonshohe ; and, as it were, by a bitter 
irony of Fate, it came to pass that in the palace thus 



I VISIT THE EMPEROR 415 

named a Napoleon did live, not as a reigning sovereign, 
but as a prisoner of war. 

The Imperial prisoner, however, was treated by the 
Prussian King with the greatest consideration, and in a 
manner that was intended not to remind him of his un- 
fortunate position. When he arrived at Wilhelmshohe he 
found everj'thing in readiness to make his sojourn at the 
palace most comfortable. There was a warm glow inside 
the splendid halls; generals, and gentlemen of the Royal 
household, were standing at the entrance to do the honors 
of the occasion; attendants were bustling about the pal- 
ace and in the corridors, and everything was in gala to 
receive the distinguished guest. 

" Times have changed since Mary was locked up by 
Elizabeth, or, to quote a more analogous case, since the 
youthful King of France was captured by the German 
Emperor, Charles V., on the battle-field of Pavia," says 
the correspondent of a well-known English newspaper when 
describing the treatment which Napoleon III. received in 
Prussia ; and he adds, ' ' Such is the aspect Royal imprison- 
ment assumes in the courtesy of the present age." 

It is strange, however, that before the mind of this 
writer, who seems to have been so familiar with analogous 
eases, the picture did not arise of the prison on a rocky 
island in the Atlantic, where the greatest military genius 
of our time perished in consequence of the brutal treat- 
ment of his jailers. When Napoleon III. arrived in Wil- 
helmshohe, only forty-three years had elapsed since his 
famous uncle had been the victim of the cruelty of Sir 
Hudson Lowe; and if the late Emperor of the French 
received a kinder treatment, it was on account of the fact 
that he had fallen into the hands of a monarch who had 
sympathy with his enemy in his misfortune, but not be- 
cause a new age of courtesy had arisen. Times change, 
but human character remains the same; and just as it 
would be ridiculous to maintain that in former times the 



416 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

kind treatment of an enemy was unknown, just so un- 
reasonable is it to pretend that in our so-called age of 
enlightenment and refinement, brutality and arrogance 
towards the vanquished have become impossible. 

The treatment which was benevolently intended to make 
the fallen sovereign forget his hard fate could, however, 
only alleviate, but not remove, the pain that pierced his 
heart. The blow had been too terrible, and its immedi- 
ate effect upon the health of the monarch, who had been 
suffering so much for some months previous from a pain- 
ful malady, was now apparent even to the casual observer. 

ITerr Paul Lindau, one of the best-known writers of 
modern Germany, has described graphically the impression 
made upon him when he saw the Emperor on the day of 
his arrival at Wilhelmshohe : 

" I have seen the Emperor," he writes, " hundreds of 
times in Paris. Every line of his features is just as 
familiar to me as are those of my nearest friend; yet I 
declare with the greatest sincerity that when he arrived 
here I did not recognize him. I am not sentimental, and 
my nerves are of normal strength; but the shock that the 
contrast presented sent a shiver to my heart. Everybody 
is familiar with the way in which Napoleon's hair used 
to be arranged — the crisp curl so carefully trained, and 
the historical mustache with its waxed ends that gave to 
his countenance its distinguished expression. All that 
trim soldierly air was gone. A few straggling locks of 
hair were scattered in confusion over his forehead, and 
his untended mustache drooped heavily over his closed 
lips, betokening the despair that must have reigned in his 
soul. Napoleon moved no muscle; not a line in his face 
was stirred when he responded to the military salute. 
As he turned from right to left, no gleam of expression 
passed across his features. TTis eyes had lost every ves- 
tige of meaning, and he gazed on all about him, yet 
evidently seeing nothing. 



I VISIT THE EMPEROR 417 

" Such a full personification of total apathy I have 
never seen. It was not a living, human face I beheld; it 
was a lifeless, vacant mask. I could not withdraw my 
gaze from him ; I could not admit the possibility of the fact ; 
I could not realize that the wreck before me was the man 
whose voice was but a few weeks since so potent through- 
out the world; that this was the wise and mighty Em- 
peror. ' ' 

The foregoing description of the appearance of the 
French sovereign on the evening of his arrival at Cassel, 
written by a keen observer, gives an idea not only of the 
physical condition of the Emperor, but of his state of 
mind during those first days after the catastrophe of 
Sedan. 

The sun was shining brightly when, the next morning, 
I came to the gate of the Park of Wilhelmshohe, and, fol- 
lowing the route that was marked by inscriptions pointing 
the way to the chateau, passed through a maze of trees and 
by clumps of shrubbery and patches of flowers blighted by 
the frost, and by the side of broad lawns strown with leaves 
that were now falling fast, until I came in sight of the 
famous palace that stood out suddenly before me, a daz- 
zling, white mass, under the hill which was crowned by the 
statue of the Farnese Hercules. 

I stopped for a few moments to admire the building, 
the statues, and the fountains, and the picturesque group- 
ing of landscape effects; and then, ascending a flight of 
steps and crossing the broad terrace in front of the palace, 
I went to the entrance on the right, where I was received 
l)y an attendant, who accompanied me to the room that 
had been prepared for me. 

The Emperor occupied a suite in the left wing of 
the palace, on the second floor. It was reached by a 
monumental staircase, and contained several rooms. The 
bedroom was at the extreme end of the suite, and was 



418 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

very large, the bed itself standing in a sort of alcove. It 
was in this room that, soon after my arrival at Wilhelms- 
hohe, I was received by the Emperor. A table stood in 
the middle of the room. His IMajesty sat in a chair be- 
tween the bed and the table ; he was smoking a cigarette, 
the remains of several lying upon a dish on the table. 
He looked pale and careworn. Never, while I live, shall 
I forget this meeting. Scarcely two months had elapsed 
since I had seen him going to place himself at the head 
of his troops, surrounded by a brilliant staff who dreamed 
of victory and glory. For some moments we remained si- 
lent; the situation was painful to me. Nor could his 
Majesty conceal his emotion. He then thanked me warmly 
for having come to him, and asked me what news I had 
brought from the Empress and the Prince Imperial. As 
I was almost the first person he had seen coming directly 
from the Empress since her arrival in England, he had 
a great many questions to ask ; and, in particular, he wished 
me to narrate to him the details of the departure of the 
Empress from Paris, as they had never been reported to 
him. I described what had happened to the Empress 
from the time she left the Tuileries until her arrival in 
England, and what I myself had done for her up to the 
moment of her settling down in Chislehurst. The Emperor 
was so affected that frequently, during my rehearsal of the 
story, he was moved to tears. On my mentioning to him 
that her Majesty spent her last night in Paris beneath 
my roof, he interrupted me by inquiring what motive she 
had in deciding not to leave Paris on the night of the 
4th. And when I told him my reasons for persuading her 
to remain overnight in my house, and which I have given 
in a previous chapter, he thanked me with much feeling, 
saying: " You have not only protected the Empress from 
harm ; you also have prevented her enemies from saying 
that the Regent rashly deserted her capital. ' ' 

"When I had concluded my narration concerning the 



I 



I VISIT THE EMPEROR 419 

flight of the Empress, I spoke of the kind reception given 
to me by Queen Augusta, and the sentiments which she 
had expressed when speaking of the assistance I had been 
able to render the Empress. To this the Emperor re- 
plied: " I am persuaded that this noble woman really 
meant what she said, for she has done everything to make 
me comfortable here, and I am treated with the most 
thoughtful and delicate kindness. I have been placed 
under no personal restraint whatsoever, but have been 
given the most complete liberty to go wherever I like, on 
foot or in a carriage, not only in the park but beyond its 
limits — a privilege of which I frequently avail myself. 
Thinking that it would be agreeable to me to have one 
of my countrymen as the head of my household, she has 
sent me her own steward, who is a Frenchman, and who, 
during the many years that he has been in her service, 
has gained her highest esteem. Besides, she has placed 
carriages and horses from her own stables at my disposal ; 
and, in fact, I am treated by her Majesty rather like a 
guest than like a prisoner, ' ' 

After we had conversed for more than an hour, the 
Emperor invited me to take a walk with him in the beauti- 
ful grounds surrounding the Palace of Wilhelmshohe. For 
some time we continued our walk in the garden, while the 
Emperor related to me many reminiscences of his life. 
He avoided any reference to the political situation, which 
at the time was most critical in its import to the Imperial 
dynasty; nor did he allude to the events that had led up 
to it. The conversation was confined almost entirely to 
personal incidents and subjects. He spoke of the differ- 
ence between the treatment he was now receiving and that 
which he was subjected to when at Ham,'' where I learned," 
he said, "to be a prisoner, and a good many things be- 
sides. You know I have always called Ham my University. 
And, by the way, how are you getting on with your Inter- 
oceanic canal? It was while I was a prisoner, in 1844, 



420 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

that I first became interested in the project of uniting the 
Atlantic and Pacific oceans by means of a canal. You 
will remember, perhaps, that I came to the conclusion that 
the Nicaragua route was the best." A few words will ex- 
plain how it happened that the Emperor spoke to me on 
this subject. 

I was one of the members of a society formed in Paris, 
in the spring of 1870, the object of which was to exam- 
ine the feasibility of constructing a ship-canal across 
the Isthmus of Darien or Panama. I had informed his 
Majesty of our project, and had told him, only two or 
three weeks before the declaration of war, that we had 
sent out an engineer to survey the routes proposed and 
report to us on their respective merits. The Emperor 
had remembered our conversation on this subject. But 
although the problem of constructing a ship-canal across 
the American isthmus had once attracted his attention, 
and he had found its study singularly fascinating, I can- 
not believe that when he asked me what we had accom- 
plished, he was prompted to do so by any feeling of either 
personal interest in the project or curiosity to know what 
had really been done. I am sure it was rather from an 
impulse of sympathy for a friend whose efforts he would 
have been pleased to hear had been successful. 

But while engaged in this discursive talk, unwittingly 
we had come out upon the open country road and saw 
ourselves suddenly surrounded by a group of children, 
who at first stared at us curiously, and then approached 
to solicit money. The Emperor, kind and generous as 
ever — he who had spent so freely the income granted to 
him by his people in works of charity and in largesses of 
every sort — could not resist the appealing looks of the 
blue eyes of the little boys and girls who stood aroimd 
us. Drawing from his pocket some rather large pieces of 
silver, he handed these to them with a pleased expression 
on his face; and then, turning towards me and slightly 



I VISIT THE EMPEROR 421 

blushing, he said, as if to excuse himself : ' ' You will think 
me, perhaps, a spendthrift. It is true, I should not for- 
get that I am no longer an Emperor." 

Soon after we returned from this walk breakfast was 
served in the great dining-room of the palace. And here 
I met some of the most distinguished of those officers and 
gentlemen who had followed the Emperor into captivity — 
the Princes de la Moskowa and Murat, and Generals Castel- 
nau, Reille, and Pajol, Captain Lauriston, and others, 
among whom were M. Franceschini Pietri, and the Em- 
peror's lifelong inseparable friend, Dr. Conneau. These 
gentlemen I had the pleasure of meeting again at dinner; 
after which the hours were spent in pleasant conversation, 
every one speaking of that which he had most at heart. Of 
course, the then existing condition of France was the chief 
topic; and the hope which was expressed by most of the 
military men was that of soon seeing again their own coun- 
try. The Emperor tried to hide his emotion when refer- 
ence was made to going home, but looking into his face I 
could see plainly what sorrow possessed his soul. Others 
might hope, but he did not dare to indulge the hope of 
seeing France again. All he could expect was that the 
Prussian Government would soon grant him the favor of 
rejoining his wife and son in England. During the eve- 
ning he spoke much, and in the kindest manner, of the coun- 
try which had given its hospitality to the Empress in her 
distress, and he remembered gratefully the days he him- 
self had spent as an exiled Prince under the protecting 
flag of Great Britain. 

The day after my arrival at Wilhelmshohe I left that 
place and went to see some of the camps in which the 
French were held as prisoners of war; and afterward I 
went to Saarbruck, where hostilities began, and visited 
the battle-fields and hospitals in the vicinity of Metz. My 
object was to see if it was possible for me in any way 



422 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

to alleviate the hardships and suflt'erings of the French 
soldiers, who, wounded or sick, were at the same time pris- 
oners of war. 

On my way back to England I stopped a short time 
in Brussels. Here I was received by the King and Queen 
of Belgium, who were anxious to hear about the flight of 
the Empress; and the King told me of the arrangements 
that had been made to protect the Prince Imperial and 
provide for his wants when he passed through Belgium 
en route to England. 

When I left the palace I went to the Hotel de Bellevue, 
and found there her Highness, Princess Mathilde, the 
daughter of the ex-King of Westphalia, and cousin of 
Napoleon III. She talked freely to me about the events 
which had taken place in France. She told me that she 
was very anxious to see the Empress Eugenie, and that 
she should go for that purpose to England as soon as the 
weather became more settled — being apparently somewhat 
afraid of sea-sickness. I met in the hotel also the Duke 
de Bassano, and M. Benedetti, who, as Ambassador to 
Prussia, played such an important part just before the 
beginning of the Franco-German War. 

In Brussels I found a number of important letters and 
despatches, that had been awaiting my arrival there for 
a week or more. Accordingly, on October 28th, after an 
absence of exactly twenty days, I returned to England 
to relate to her Majesty my interview with the Emperor, 
to report to her what I had heard and seen that might 
interest her, and to make arrangements to carry out the 
work which my inspection of the French hospitals and 
prison camps had suggested to me, and which I had re- 
solved should occupy my time during the coming 
months. 

During my absence, or rather from the moment of her 
arrival in England, her Majesty, unmindful of herself, 
had used all the influence she still possessed to help and 



I 



DIPLOMACY 423 

protect her imfortmiate country, notwithstanding the acts 
and the ingratitude of her people. 

The Revolution which overthrew the Empire, at the 
same time completely isolated France, and destroyed all 
hope of an alliance with other Powers. The ties which 
bound the Court of Florence to that of the Tuileries were 
now broken. Princess Clotilde had left the country, as the 
Empress had done ; and Prince Napoleon was an exile. The 
King of Italy was wounded by the catastrophe which over- 
whelmed his ally, his relative, and his friend. The Court 
of Vienna, which in 1867 began to enter into very friendly 
relations with the French Court in order to secure the 
assistance of Napoleon III. in view of certain complica- 
tions that were threatening, no longer saw any ground for 
an alliance with France, because its raison d'etre had en- 
tirely depended upon the private politics of the Emperor 
and his personal influence. It was now too late to act 
with France in order to check the ambitious projects of 
the Chancellor of the North-German Confederation ; and 
what, on the other hand, the attitude of the French Re- 
public would be with respect to various political questions 
that might interest Austria, could not be foreseen. 

The Russian Government, it is true, during the reign 
of Napoleon III. had not always been upon the most 
friendly terms with France ; but the German victories were 
so overwhelming as to lead to a revulsion of feeling in 
Russia, and the Emperor Alexander told General Fleury, 
the French Ambassador, that at the right moment he would 
speak loudly in favor of France. This assurance which 
the Czar gave to the Imperial Government was a promise 
that could be relied upon, for the Czar had engaged his 
personal word ; but he had engaged it to the Emperor, and 
not to a Ministry which was regarded as illegitimate by 
the Courts of Europe. Prince Gortschakoff had proposed 
to offer his mediation in order to obtain a revision of the 
Treaty of Paris; but after the Revolution had isolated 



424 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

France entirely, his mediation had become impossible. 
The Court and the high personages of Russia could look 
with no favor upon a country in which the Pole Berezowsky, 
who had attempted to assassinate the Czar, and the lawyer 
M. Floquet, who had insulted him, were persons of dis- 
tinction. 

M. Jules Favre, the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the 
new Government, knew nothing of this promise, or of the 
relations of the Imperial Cabinet with the Russian Govern- 
ment, for he says : " A rapid examination was sufficient 
to convince me not only that we had no alliance — this I 
already knew — but that our diplomacy had never made 
a serious effort to obtain one. ' ' * 

The Prince de la Tour d'Auvergne had, of course, not 
believed himself to be justified in communicating the 
Cabinet secrets of the Empire to his Republican successor; 
but if M. Jules Favre had not been satisfied with ' ' a rapid 
examination, " as he calls it, he might have easily discovered 
the actual state of things. This knowledge, however, would 
not have been of any use to him, since, for the reasons 
above given, the foreign Cabinets had ceased to take an 
interest in the fortunes of France from the moment of the 
proclamation of the Republic, f 

The very last despatch which was received at the 
Tuileries (on September 4th) came from General Fleury in 
reply to a communication from the Regent sent after the 

* " Le Gouvernement de la Defense Nationale," par M. Jules Favre, 
p. 1. 

t The understanding between France, Austria, and Italy was such, 
immediately preceding the declaration of war, in 1870, that the Emperor 
told General Lebrun he considered the alliance with Italy as certain, 
and that with Austria as morally, if not materially, assured. In fact, 
as late as the middle of June, 1870, the Archduke Albert submitted to 
the Emperor a minutely detailed plan of military operations, to be 
carried out conjointly by France, Austria, and Italy on German terri- 
tory — the case arising. Cf. General Lebrun's " Souvenirs Militaires," 
Paris, E. Dentu, 1895. 



DIPLOMACY 425 

capitulation of Sedan, inquiring to what extent the Czar 
was disposed to intervene. In this despatch General 
Fleury said the Czar was disposed to advise Prussia to 
end the war. 

Inasmuch as the mind of the Empress had been 
occupied for many days with but one thought — so far as 
France was concerned — namely, how to limit the conse- 
quences of the military disasters, from the very moment 
she arrived in England she set to work to follow up the 
negotiations she had opened with the Russian Court. 

It would not have been astonishing had the Imperial 
family wished to see France punished for the behavior of 
the people toward their sovereign; but Napoleon III. and 
his noble consort loved their country more than their 
throne, and were grieved, rather than incited to feelings 
of animosity, by the acts which the people had committed. 

I was with her Majesty every day at this time, and 
her political opinions and purposes were freely declared 
and discussed, and were no secret to any one in her im- 
mediate entourage. 

As it happened. General Fleury, notwithstanding the 
events in Paris, had remained in St. Petersburg, and was 
so well liked at the Russian Court that his influence sur- 
vived his official position and his government. Accord- 
ingly, on her arrival at Hastings, among the first des- 
patches sent by the Empress was one to General Fleury, 
urging him not to cease his efforts to obtain an honorable 
peace. And when her Majesty was informed of the sus- 
picion and hostility with which the Republic was regarded 
at the European courts, and was told that the personal 
intervention of the Czar was now scarcely to be expected, 
she wrote to the Emperor Alexander a letter, in which she 
asked him not to change his policy in regard to France 
on account of the Revolution, 

" If I have correctly understood the reports of our 
ambassador," the Empress wrote, on September 13th, 



426 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

from Hastings, " your Majesty has, a priori, decided 
against the dismemberment of France. Fate has been 
hard to us. The Emperor is a prisoner, and calumniated. 
Another Government has taken up the task which we had 
thought it our duty to fulfil. I supplicate your Majesty 
to use your influence in order to make it possible that an 
honorable and durable peace may be concluded when the 
moment shall arrive. May France, whatever its govern- 
ment, always be able to count upon the same sentiments 
which your Majesty has had for our own during these hard 
trials." 

While the Empress thus, with noble self-denial, was 
willing to assist the Revolutionary party, if only the coun- 
try could be spared, the new Government acted in just 
the opposite manner. Instead of avoiding all that could 
possibly compromise the future of France, thinking only 
of how their acts could be extenuated, they loudly calum- 
niated the Empire and exalted themselves. It would be 
difficult to imagine anything more injudicious and undip- 
lomatic than the declamatory circular issued on September 
6th by M. Jules Favre, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, 
and addressed by him to the diplomatic representatives 
of France in foreign countries. It was a pson of victory 
over " Napoleon III. and his dynasty," a defiance to Ger- 
many, and a menace to the established institutions of 
Europe. " Voild, monsieur, ce que VEurope doit savoir! " 
cried out Favre at the close of this precious document. He 
wished it to be understood that the authority was in new 
hands. 

When the Emperor Alexander received from her Maj- 
esty the letter here referred to, he expressed to her his 
regret that circumstances had changed the situation of 
things. This answer of the Russian Emperor showed that 
he was not willing to assist the Republic. Her Majesty, 
however, instead of resting satisfied with what she had 
done, or even becoming discouraged by the reply of the 



DIPLOMACY 427 

Czar, decided to use her influence once more in favor of 
her country through General Fleury. Having heard that 
M. Jules Favre had appealed to the foreign Powers in 
order to obtain through their assistance an interview with 
Count Bismarck, she wrote to General Fleury requesting 
him to intercede before the Czar in behalf of the Republi- 
can Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Ambassador, in 
obedience to her Majesty, immediately complied with her 
wishes, and did everything in his power to counteract the 
unfavorable impression which the Republican Government 
had produced by its first public acts. Since every one 
knew that M. Fleury was one of the earliest and most de- 
voted friends of the Emperor, and was strongly attached to 
the Imperial family, his efforts in behalf of Jules Favre 
and his colleagues could not be misinterpreted, and there- 
fore had the desired effect. The Government of St. Peters- 
burg consequently advised the Prussian Government to 
enter into negotiations with the Republican representative, 
and the famous interview between Bismarck and Jules 
Favre at Ferrieres took place. 

Her Majesty's appeals in behalf of France were, how- 
ever, not addressed to the Czar of Russia alone. She wrote 
also to the Emperor of Austria and to the Queen of Eng- 
land, begging them to intervene; but in vain. Indeed, 
her unremitting efforts to obtain for France an honorable 
peace were not only known at the time in all the chancel- 
leries of Europe, but were of such signal service that the 
Government of the National Defense were compelled to rec- 
ognize them, and, singular as it may seem, even instructed 
Monsieur Tissot, their representative at the Court of St. 
James's to convey to the Empress Eugenie their thanks 
" tres respectueusement.^^ 

But the interview at Ferrieres, unfortunately for 
France, led to no result. And no satisfactory result was 
expected by the German Chancellor from an interview 
with M. Favre, or any other representative of the Govern- 



428 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

ment of the National Defense, at that time. This was the 
reason why the Regent was invited insidiously, and more 
directly, to take a part in the negotiations with Prussia. 
But history must always give her the credit which is her 
due, that she used all that remained of her power in the 
interest and for the welfare of her country; that neither 
by the bitterness of her misfortune, nor the feeling of its 
injustice, nor by the desire to recover the throne for her 
husband or her son, was she induced to sacrifice her pa- 
triotism or her sense of the Imperial dignity. Her con- 
duct at this critical moment, as we shall see, was inspired 
by the most generous self-renunciation. Even in her 
greatest humiliation she still behaved nobly and like a 
sovereign. 

The Revolution of September 4th, as we know from 
the conversation between Count Bismarck and General 
Wimpfen, was not a surprise to the German Chancellor. 
He had foreseen it. The success of Prussia was complete ; 
and the great Minister of King William had a good right 
to congratulate himself that the French themselves had 
assisted him, though perhaps unintentionally, in his plans. 
The Germans all recognized this fact. On September 8th, 
the well-known Bavarian paper, the Augsburger Allgemeine 
Zeitung, said: " How he must laugh in his sleeve, the 
great diplomatist who now wears the helmet of a cuirassier, 
when he sees the change which the planting of the first 
Liberty Tree in Paris has produced in the sentiments of 
Europe! " 

The Revolution in Paris, although it was on the whole 
favorable to the development of Count Bismarck's plans, 
was nevertheless somewhat embarrassing. Bismarck wished 
peace; but in order to conclude it, he needed a govern- 
ment in France that would be strong enough to accept 
the heavy concessions which he had determined to demand, 
and that at the same time would be lasting enough to assure 



DIPLOMACY 429 

the payment of the enormous retributive contribution 
which he intended to impose upon the country. Now, the 
gentlemen of the National Defense could not contract en- 
gagements in the name of France, because their Govern- 
ment had never been sanctioned by the French people; 
while the Regent, although de jure entitled to sign a treaty 
of peace, was de facto powerless to have her signature rec- 
ognized. The German " diplomatist," however, had to 
choose between the one or the other of the two govern- 
ments; but before deciding for either, he commenced 
negotiations with both. 

On September 11th Count Bismarck began to execute 
his projects. On that day he caused a note to be inserted 
in the Independant Remois, insinuating that the Prussian 
Government would not be able to treat with the Republican 
Government of the National Defense. This note contained 
the following passage: " The German Governments have 
hitherto not recognized any government in France except 
that of the Emperor Napoleon ; and in their eyes, up to the 
present moment the Imperial Government is the only one 
which is authorized to enter into negotiations of an inter- 
national character. . . . They could treat with the 
Emperor Napoleon, or with the Regency instituted by him ; 
they could enter into communications with Marshal Ba- 
zaine, who holds command from the Emperor; but it is 
impossible to comprehend under what title the German 
Governments could treat with a power which represents 
only a part of the left wing of the former Chamber of 
Deputies. ' ' 

Two days later, when the German Chancellor received 
a communication through the Prussian Ambassador in 
London, stating that M. Jules Favre desired to have an 
interview with him, he at once sent to Count von Berns- 
torff an answer containing this passage: " I said in my 
last telegram that you could accept all kinds of overtures 
on the part of the Queen of England, but that you could 
29 



430 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

not attach to such overtures as may come from the Gov- 
ernment which at present actually exists in Paris the same 
importance which an overture would have when made by 
the Government of France. The Government of Paris has 
not been recognized by the nation, and the Emperor Na- 
poleon is, for foreign Powers, the only depositary of 
sovereignty. ' ' 

This despatch was communicated to M. Thiers, who 
had just arrived in London, and through him was sent 
to the Government of the National Defense, to which it 
gave great inquietude. It reached Hastings also, undoubt- 
edly, through the agency of the English Foreign Office; 
but it did not have the effect of causing the Empress 
to intimate even that, in the existing circumstances, she 
would be willing to reassume the responsibilities of sov- 
ereignty. 

The Regent did not abandon the passive role which she 
had imposed upon herself on the 4th of September. She 
was true to what she had then said; were she to fall, she 
wished to do so without encumbering the defense. For 
this reason she had not protested against the Revolution, 
either before the French people or to the foreign Powers. 
This also was the attitude of the Emperor himself. He 
had refused at Sedan to negotiate for peace, declaring that, 
from the moment he was a prisoner, it was not his business 
to do so. This right, he said, belonged to the Regent. 
And after the fall of his Government he refused still more 
decidedly to take part in any negotiations. He might 
have done so if by his own personal influence he could 
have procured for his country certain conditions of peace, 
as, for instance, a guarantee that no part of the French 
territory should be sacrificed; but this, of course, was 
not to be hoped for from the Prussian Government. Such 
being the situation, it could be foreseen that the negotia- 
tions for peace would probably, at last, have to be entered 
into and conducted with the Republicans. 



I 



CHAPTER XVI 

INTRIGUES AND MORE DIPLOMACY 

The mysterious M. R^gnier — His interviews with Bismarck — ^The situa- 
tion at Metz — M. Regnier is received by Marshal Bazaine — General 
Bourbaki leaves for Chislehurst — The Empress is astonished — She 
tries once more to obtain peace on favorable terms — She writes to 
her friend, Francis Joseph — The memorandum of the Emperor — 
General Boyer is sent to the German head-quarters — His inter- 
views with Count Bismarck — The French Army makes no "pro- 
nunciamentos " — A council of war at Metz — "The only means of 
salvation" — General Boyer goes to Chislehurst — The Council at 
Camden Place — The Empress declares that she will never sign a 
treaty of peace in ignorance of its terms — Her letter to General 
Boyer — A lesson never forgotten — The Alliance with Italy — The 
political ideas and sympathies of the Empress — An interesting 
incident — Her letters to the Emperor, written in October, 1869 — 
A letter written in October, 1896 — Justice will be done. 

JN the 12th of September a man named Regnier, 
who had never occupied any public position in 
France, and who had no known relations in 
the political world, wrote to a person at 
Hastings, submitting to him a project for the restoration 
of the Napoleonic dynasty upon a special basis, the most 
important points of which were the conclusion of peace, 
the return of the Regent to France, and the reunion of 
the Legislative Body under the protection of the army of 
Metz. Receiving no answer to his letter, on the 14th, two 
days later, Regnier came to Hastings and asked for an audi- 
ence before the Empress. When, however, the Empress 
refused to see him, he exposed his views to a friend of her 
Majesty, trying by this means to secure favorable notice 

431 




THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

and the adoption of his plans. The friend in question 
told him that he was convinced that all efforts to induce 
her Majesty to consider this scheme would be in vain. 
Nevertheless M. Regnier returned the next day, and strenu- 
ously insisted upon seeing the Regent. " Her inaction," 
said he, " is a great mistake; no time should be lost. I, 
or somebody else, ought to have been since yesterday in 
personal communication with Count Bismarck, not official- 
ly, but confidentially and secretly." 

Receiving another refusal, M. Regnier said he would 
go to Wilhelmshohe and offer his services to the Emperor, 
But fearing he might find it difficult to obtain access to 
the distinguished prisoner, he waited for an opportunity 
to approach the Prince Imperial. On meeting his High- 
ness, one day, when walking with his tutor, M. Filon, 
Regnier accosted them, and saying he was about to leave 
for Wilhelmshohe, remarked, apparently in a casual way 
— as he had at the time some photographs in his hand — 
" If the Prince would like to send a souvenir of Hastings 
to the Emperor, he has only to put his name on one of 
these photographs, and I will see that the Emperor gets 
it." M. Filon consenting, as the matter seemed to him 
of little importance, the Prince Imperial wrote under one 
of the photographs: " My dear Papa; I send you some 
views of Hastings. I hope they will please you." And 
he affixed his signature to these words. 

As soon as M. Regnier had obtained this signature, he 
departed, not for "Wilhelmshohe, but for Ferrieres, where, 
on the very day of his arrival — September 19th — the inter- 
view between Count Bismarck and Jules Favre took place. 
Whoever M. Regnier may have been, whether a Prussian 
agent or a French adventurer, whom the Prussian author- 
ities took for an agent of the Empress, one thing is certain, 
that, having in his possession a passport obtained at the 
Prussian Embassy in London, he passed without difficulty 
through the German lines, and was admitted, the very 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 433 

moment of his arrival at Ferrieres, into the presence of the 
German Chancellor. Count Bismarck listened to M. 
Regnier's plan for the restoration of the Empire, and 
granted him, at his request, a laissez passer, enabling him 
to travel with safety through the territory occupied by the 
German armies. The photographs, however, he retained; 
and a few moments later he showed them to M. Jules Favre, 
in order to impress upon him the fact that negotiations 
were going on between himself and the Empress.- 

On the evening of the day following the fruitless 
interview between Jules Favre and Bismarck, the German 
Chancellor gave another audience to M. Regnier. The lat- 
ter then suggested that, instead of going to Wilhelmshohe, 
it might be best for him to go to Metz, in order to induce 
Marshal Bazaine to accept his plan for a restoration of 
the Empire. Count Bismarck approved of this idea; and 
]\I. Regnier departed, furnished with the necessary passes, 
for Metz. On the 23d he arrived at the head-quarters of 
the German army, and was received by Prince Frederick 
Charles, who had been prepared by a telegram from Count 
Bismarck announcing Regnier's arrival. In the evening 
M. Regnier continued his journey, and entered within 
the fortifications of the beleaguered city. 

After the battle of Saint Privat, Marshal Bazaine 
decided that it would be the wisest thing for his army to 
remain inside the fortifications of Metz; and this decision 
had been taken after consulting with all the corps com- 
manders. These military chiefs, at the council of war held 
August 26th in the Castle of Grimont, declared that it 
would be impossible for the army to leave Metz without 
incurring the risk of a total defeat. Nevertheless, as soon 
as the news arrived of the movement of Marshal Mac- 
Mahon's forces in the direction of Metz, an attempt was 
made to effect a junction with his army. On the evening 
of August 30th Marshal Bazaine marched in the direction 
of Thionville, and a hard fight took place between the 



434 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

French and the German troops, lasting until late in the 
night. The next morning it was renewed, but the Prus- 
sians remained victorious, for during the night they had 
obtained reenforcements. This was the last great battle 
in which the army of Metz was engaged. On the 7th of 
September Marshal Bazaine heard of the disaster at Sedan, 
and a few days later of the Revolution in Paris. M. De- 
baine, a prisoner who had escaped from the German out- 
posts, brought into Metz papers describing the situation in 
France and the events which had recently taken place. 
The Marshal, greatly moved by this news, addressed him- 
self to Prince Frederick Charles, begging of him infor- 
mation regarding the real condition of the country. The 
Prince answered him on September 16th, closing his letter 
with a phrase which was a direct invitation to begin nego- 
tiations. The words were : ' ' Furthermore, your Excel- 
lency will find me ready and authorized to send to him 
all the information that he may desire. ' ' * These words 
were soon afterward confirmed by the arrival of a copy 
of the Tndependant Bemois of the 11th, containing the 
communication previously quoted. There could be no 
doubt that the Prussians wished to negotiate with the 
army of Metz. This, of course, made a great impression 
upon the Marshal, for his army was already reduced to 
eating the cavalry horses, and before the end of October 
there would be no provisions of any kind left. Besides, 
there was no hope of breaking through the lines of the 
enemy, at least as far as Marshal Bazaine was able to judge 
from his point of view. 

Thus matters stood at the moment of the arrival of 
M. Regnier. An agent coming from the Regent might be, 
possibly, a messenger bringing salvation to the army. 
Moreover, an order from the Empress would divest the 
Marshal of the necessity for treating on his own account. 

* "L'Armee du Rhin," par Ic Marechal Bazaine, p. 119. 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 435 

This may explain the benevolent reception which the Com- 
mander-in-Chief extended to an individual who was not 
known to any one in the city, and the imprudence with 
which he entrusted to him information concerning the 
actual condition of his army. Besides, the facility with 
which M. Regnier had been able to pass through the 
Prussian lines gave an appearance of truth to his pretended 
mission. The interview lasted a long time. M. Regnier 
spoke of his negotiations with Count Bismarck ; of the ruin 
that must follow a continuation of the war; of the desira- 
bility of an armistice; of the important role which the 
army of Metz was called upon to play ; of the necessity of 
sending either Marshal Canrobert or General Bourbaki to 
the Regent, in order to explain to her the perilous state of 
the army in Metz, and to induce her to sign a treaty of 
peace. The Marshal answered that it was, of course, to the 
interest of France to make peace ; and that if the army were 
permitted to leave Metz, it would surely be able to maintain 
order in the interior, and to enforce the terms of peace which 
should be agreed upon. As a sign of his readiness to act 
upon the suggestions of Regnier, he consented to place his 
signature beside that of the Prince Imperial, at the foot of 
the photograph which Regnier had again in his possession. 
M. Regnier returned the next day to the Prussian 
head-quarters, where Prince Frederick Charles showed him 
two telegrams which he had received from Count Bismarck, 
announcing that Jules Favre had rejected the conditions 
on which alone the King was willing to consent to an 
armistice. The Prince then said that he would authorize 
a French general to leave Metz in order to go to England 
and confer with the Regent. M. Regnier went back im- 
mediately to report this news to Marshal Bazaine. There- 
upon it was decided that General Bourbaki should depart 
for Chislehurst; and that same evening the General left 
Metz disguised as a physician.* 

* " Proces Bazaine." "Quel est votre nom?" Par M. Regnier. 



436 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Two or three days later (September 27th) General 
Bourbaki arrived at Camden Place. While en route, hav- 
ing learned the situation of things in France, brought about 
by the Revolution, and seeing that, in fact, he held no com- 
mission to act from any one in authority, he began to feel 
embarrassed. His surprise can be imagined when, on pre- 
senting himself before the Empress, she expressed her 
astonishment that he should be in England, and informed 
him that she had not requested him to leave Metz; that 
she knew nothing whatsoever of M. Regnier's plans, and 
that she did not remember to have ever before even heard 
his name. 

The scene that followed was most distressing. The 
Empress could not conceal her indignation on discovering 
that she had been made unbeknown to her the principal in a 
miserable intrigue. And General Bourbaki, when he found 
that he had been basely duped, was so overcome with anger 
and mortification as to be quite beside himself. All he 
could say for several minutes was : " I want to go back ! 
Why have I been sent here ? I want to go back ! I want 
to go back! " 

Although the Empress had not been at all implicated 
in the machinations by which General Bourbaki had been 
induced to leave Metz, she was greatly pained by the in- 
formation which the General gave her with regard to the 
situation and condition of the army shut up in that strong- 
hold. 

It was impossible for her to interfere directly with the 
course of things, but she resolved once more to use her 
influence with the foreign Powers, to induce them to advise 
the Prussian King to make the conditions of peace moder- 
ate. It was under these circumstances, and for this pur- 
pose, that she wrote, September 28th, to her friend, Fran- 
cis Joseph. 

" Misfortunes," she said in this letter, " have been 
poured down upon us. Sire. The Emperor, being a pris- 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 437 

oner, can at this moment do nothing for his country. But 
I, having been obliged to leave France against my own will, 
cannot remain silent in the midst of so much sorrow and 
ruin. I believe that, in addressing myself to your Majesty, 
your Majesty will understand that my only care is for 
France ; that for it alone my heart is greatly moved, and 
that for it alone I pray. I hope your Majesty will employ 
your influence to protect my country against humiliating 
demands, and to obtain for it a peace by which the integ- 
rity of its territory shall be respected." 

M. Regnier's role was finished from the moment the 
Empress refused his mediation. As he was unable to show 
any regular credentials, the Germans now declined to listen 
to his propositions, and he disappeared from the stage where 
for a brief time he had figured.* 

Nevertheless, Count Bismarck had not yet given up the 
hope of coming to an understanding with the Imperial 
party, and he therefore addressed himself to Napoleon III. 
The Emperor had not directly refused to enter into pre- 
liminary negotiations; he would have consented to do this 
could only a basis favorable to France have been obtained. 
On September 27th he had sent General Castelnau to the 
head-quarters of the King of Prussia with a memorandum 

* It has never been quite clear for whom this man Regnier was 
acting. There is good reason, however, for believing the statement 
made by General Boyer before the Parliamentary Commission ap- 
pointed to inquire into the acts of the Government of the National 
Defense. It is as follows: 

"M. Regnier was certainly a Prussian agent acting in accord with 
the Russian Government. The two Governments in question had 
come to an understanding to make use of Regnier for the purpose of 
obtaining a treaty from the Government of the Empress Regent; 
Prussia not wishing to treat with the Government of the National 
Defense; and Russia not being willing to employ its good offices on any 
other than monarchical grounds. Russia had no wish to give its aid to a 
Revolutionary Government." — "Enquete Parlementaire." Tome iv, 
p. 253. 



438 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

in which he suggested that since, in his opinion, the strug- 
gle between France and Germany could never come to an 
end except through the total destruction of one of the two 
adversaries, or through their honest and loyal reconciliation 
guaranteed by the dismantlement of the fortifications 
(which would then become unnecessary), such a reconcilia- 
tion was most earnestly to be desired. Count Bismarck, 
however, considered the military situation as too favorable 
to Germany to accept the Emperor's proposition. While 
intimating that, the day after the capitulation of Sedan, he 
might have been satisfied with a heavy indemnity and the 
dismantlement of the fortifications, now, after the siege of 
Paris had commenced, and the siege of Strasburg and the 
investment of Metz were approaching an end, the Chan- 
cellor demanded a concession of territory as a sine qua non. 

The situation of the troops in Metz became from day to 
day more critical. A council of war decided, on the 10th 
of October, to parley with the enemy in order to obtain 
for the army honorable conditions of capitulation; but in 
case the Germans were to impose terms incompatible with 
sentiments of honor and military duty, salvation was to be 
sought on the battle-field. General Boyer, an aide-de-camp 
of Marshal Bazaine, was then sent to the German head- 
quarters to ascertain under what conditions the army could 
leave Metz. This envoy of the Marshal arrived on the 
14th at Versailles, where Count Bismarck informed him 
that if simply a military capitulation was intended, and 
not peace. General von Moltke was resolved to impose upon 
the army in Metz terms exactly like those required at 
Sedan. 

When General Boyer protested against this, declaring 
that the army in Metz would never accept such conditions, 
Count Bismarck added, '' Perhaps I can suggest some 
political considerations to the King and his Council "; and 
taking the General aside, the Chancellor explained to him 



1 

i 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 439 

that, in his opinion, the moment for peace had arrived, and 
that Germany desired peace quite as much as France. 
" But in order to make peace," he continued, " we must 
have a serious and strong government to treat with, one 
which can guarantee it. The King cannot treat with the 
Government of the National Defense, which has been unable 
to conceal from him its dangerous designs. He is abso- 
lutely decided not to treat with the Government of Paris, 
and still less with that of Tours. I can, besides, assure 
you that the German Government is not hostile to the Im- 
perial dynasty, and that it is not hostile to the Imperial 
form of Government ; on the contrary, it even believes that 
this form of government is most suitable to the French 
people. And," he remarked, " the King is personally in 
favor of a restoration of the Napoleonic dynasty in the per- 
son of the Prince Imperial, and under the Regency of the 
Empress, the Council to be presided over by a Marshal of 
France. Nevertheless, we do not wish to again commit the 
fault which we committed in 1815, that of imposing a gov- 
ernment upon France ; she must choose one for herself, or 
at least she must sanction one. ' ' 

Then the German statesman vividly described to Gen- 
eral Boyer what the interior situation of France had been 
since September 4th; and he insisted particularly on the 
impotency of the French army in the provinces. He 
showed that the army of Metz, after leaving the fortifica- 
tions, could place itself at the disposal of the Legislative 
Body, and reestablish order and regular government. 
' * But, ' ' he remarked, ' ' the King will not set free the army 
of Metz until peace is assured. It is therefore necessary 
that the Regent should sign the Treaty of Peace; and in 
order that her signature may be of value, it is also necessary 
that the army of Metz should promise to sustain the Im- 
perial Government. What is the feeling of the army 
towards the Empire 1 ' ' then asked the Chancellor. 

General Boyer said that the army had not recognized 



440 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE \ 

the Government of the National Defense, which had hitherto 
not communicated with it; that, moreover, the army had 
taken the oath of allegiance to the Emperor, and that it 
would remain faithful to this oath. Such an assurance, 
however, seemed to the Chancellor insufficient, and he ex- 
pressed a desire that the army should make a public man- 
ifestation in favor of the Regent. This would have been a 
veritable pronunciamento, and General Boyer energetically 
refused to consent to it. Count Bismarck replied: " A 
manifestation of the army is, however, indispensable, for 
the Empress will not engage herself in negotiations if she 
is not sure that she will be upheld by the army in what 
she does. You will have to obtain from her Majesty the 
signature of the preliminaries of peace; and under these 
conditions you can depart with the honors of war, taking 
along your arms, your cannons, and your materiel; and 
Metz will remain free and will be her own mistress, so that 
she can defend herself with the means at her disposal. 
With these conditions," said Count Bismarck, '' I shall per- 
haps be able to persuade the King not to insist upon the 
surrender of Metz. ' ' 

The next day the Count again met the French General, 
and he informed him that King William was willing to 
treat with the Regent, and without demanding the sur- 
render of Metz. " Go, therefore," the Chancellor said, 
" and obtain from the Empress the signature of the pre- 
liminaries, and from the army the promise to make a pub- 
lic declaration of a firm intention to follow the Empress. 
Then you will have what I told you yesterday — the army 
will retreat with the honors of war, taking along with it its 
cannons and flags. But it is clearly understood that it is 
to the Regent that you are to address yourself ; for she is 
the only person that still exists, the only one with whom I 
can treat." 

General Boyer repeated what he had said the evening 
before — that the French army makes no pronunciamentos ; 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 441 

but he expressed a wish to know what conditions of peace 
would be offered to the Regent. 

Count Bismarck refused to reveal these to anybody ex- 
cept to the Empress herself, or to some one invested with 
power to act in her name. 

On October 17th General Boyer brought to ]\Ietz the 
idtimatum of Count Bismarck. A council of war was 
called together the next morning, to consider whether the 
negotiations should be continued; but the thought of pro- 
voking a public manifestation of the army in favor of the 
Empire met with strong opposition. Nevertheless, as it 
was necessary to know whether the troops could be counted 
upon, it was decided to interrogate the colonels with regard 
to the sentiments of the officers. In the evening a second 
meeting took place, and Marshals Canrobert and Leboeuf, 
and Generals Froissart and Desvaux, reported that all the 
officers would follow them, and that the army could be 
counted upon. With respect to the expediency of sending 
an officer to the Regent for the purpose of inducing her to 
negotiate a treaty, the views were greatly divided, some 
members of the council having a repugnance to enter into 
political combinations, the others declaring it impossible to 
have recourse to arms. Finally, General Changarnier 's 
opinion carried the day ; and it was recognized by the coun- 
cil of war ' ' that the only means of salvation, not only for 
the army but also for France, was to rally openly around 
the Government of the Regent. ' ' * 

It was then decided that permission should be obtained 
from Prince Frederick Charles to send an officer to the 
Empress. And on this permission being granted, to Gen- 
eral Boyer was entrusted the mission of explaining to her 
Majesty the situation at Metz, and soliciting her assistance 
in order to save the army. 

General Boyer arrived at Chislehurst October 22d. 

* " Enqudte Parlementaire." Tome iv, p. 250. 



442 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

He told the Regent that he considered the army at Metz 
as lost, if some arrangement were not made with the enemy- 
very soon ; that when he left Metz there were but two days ' 
rations remaining, and that the last ration of bread had 
already been eaten. He said to her Majesty that the Gov- 
ernment would be reestablished in a regular manner 
through the agency of the Legislative Body, the Senate, 
and the Ministerial Representatives of the Government, if 
they could be convoked — that the Legislative Body, which 
had been dispersed by the mob on the 4th of September, 
should resume its sessions seemed most natural — or that an 
appeal should be made to the people. He endeavored to 
impress it upon the mind of her Majesty that she alone 
could solve the difficulty by hastening to accept the propo- 
sitions made by Count Bismarck ; and that if she consented 
to do this, she could count upon the concurrence of her 
troops. He told her, furthermore, that he. General Boyer, 
was charged by Marshal Bazaiije and the other general 
officers to make this announcement. 

The Regent understood that she could not refuse her 
intervention at so critical a moment. But before binding 
herself to negotiate a treaty, she wished to ascertain what 
conditions Count Bismarck would stipulate ; for she was 
afraid of sacrificing the interests of the country in attempt- 
ing to save the army. She therefore telegraphed at once 
to Count Bismarck, in order to show that she was willing 
to negotiate, and, without saying anything of her further 
intentions, requested for the army of Metz an armistice of 
fourteen days, with permission meanwhile to procure pro- 
visions. At the same time, she asked for the preliminary 
conditions of peace which he would propose. 

In the afternoon her Majesty called together at Cam- 
den Place a council consisting of MM. Rouher, La Valette, 
Chevreau, Jerome David, the Duke de Persigny, and Prince 
Napoleon. To this council General Boyer also was admit- 
ted. Here he once more repeated what he had said in the 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 443 

forenoon, urging her Majesty to come to a definite decision, 
and emphatically maintaining that, if the delay should be 
prolonged, the army of Metz would be forced to lay down its 
arms. Her Majesty answered that she would use her in- 
fluence in behalf of peace, but that she could not act before 
she had ascertained what preliminary conditions would be 
imposed. 

What these terms would be General Boyer either would 
not or could not tell her. He said that he did not 
know; that Count Bismarck had not informed him; that 
his mission to Versailles was not political, but military — 
undertaken for the purpose of saving the army. At last 
he said, ' ' No matter how exorbitant, you must accept them 
and sign them. " On hearing these words, the Empress was 
greatly shocked. 

And then she writes a last despatch to King William, in 
which she appeals to his " kingly heart," to his " gener- 
osity as a soldier," and begs of him to grant her request 
made in the telegram addressed to Count Bismarck. But 
the King is dumb. 

Neither could the Empress obtain any information upon 
the subject from the Prussian Ambassador to London. In 
an interview Count Bernstorff had with her on the 25th, 
he would only go so far as to say that the German Chan- 
cellor would give to the Regent much more favorable condi- 
tions than to either of the existing Governments. He ad- 
mitted that he knew the conditions — ^that some cession of 
territory would probably be required — but finally closed the 
conversation by referring her to General Boyer. 

Most anxious to ascertain what the preliminary condi- 
tions might be, the Empress now telegraphed to the Em- 
peror at Wilhelmshohe, asking him if he knew anything 
about them. But the answer she received threw no light 
upon the subject of her inquiry. 

It was certain that the terms which Count Bismarck had 
determined to exact were hard. Hard as they might be, 



444 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

nevertheless it might have been the duty of the Empress to 
accept them. This she fully recognized at the time, and 
frankly admitted when speaking to me on this subject not 
long ago. But what made it absolutely impossible for her 
Majesty to think of accepting them — of putting her name to 
the proposed preliminary treaty — was that, to all intents 
and purposes, it was only the blank form of a treaty that 
was to be presented to her for her signature, the important 
clauses of which were to be filled in subsequently by the 
German Chancellor at his own good pleasure. This hu- 
miliation the Empress would not submit to, and she de- 
clared, furthermore, that she would never take such a re- 
sponsibility upon herself as to engage in negotiations with 
the German Chancellor without seeing clearly their end 
and purpose ; that she was too much of a Frenchwoman, and 
too sincerely attached to France, to do so ; and that in case 
the conditions could not be laid before her in the most exact 
form, and the thought of a cession of French territory 
should not be given up entirely, she would not treat with 
the King of Prussia, even to prevent the surrender of the 
army. 

Thus the mission of General Boyer failed, and five days 
later, on October 27th, the army of Metz capitulated. 

To the letter in which General Boyer announced to the 
Empress the surrender of the army of Marshal Bazaine and 
the fortress of Metz, she replied : 

* ' I have just received your letter. Stunned as I am by 
the painful news, I can only express to you my admiration 
for this valiant army and its chiefs. Overwhelmed by 
numbers, but faithful guardians of the glory and the honor 
of our unhappy country, they have preserved intact the 
traditions of our ancient legions. You know the efforts 
I have made, and my inability, to avert a fate that I Avould 
willingly have spared them at the sacrifice of my most 
cherished hopes. . . . 

" When you rejoin your companions-in-arms, tell them 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 445 

that they have been the hope, the pride, and the sorrow of 
one who is an exile, like themselves. ' ' 

Most of the facts here set forth referring to these polit- 
ical intrigues are now matters of common history. At the 
time the events occurred, however, they were known to 
only a few persons — to the parties directly concerned, or 
to those living in close connection with them. But the feel- 
ing of the Empress and of the Emperor with regard to the 
several attempts of the German Chancellor to induce them 
to consent to a disgraceful peace, and to the dismember- 
ment of France, for the sake of the Empire and the dynasty, 
can never be fully understood or appreciated, except by 
those persons whose privilege it was to hear from their 
own lips the words of noble disdain with which those Gre- 
cian gifts were repudiated and refused.* 

On the 28th of September, 1840, when on trial before the 
Chamber of Peers at the Palace of the Luxembourg on ac- 
count of the Boulogne affair. Prince Louis Napoleon, in the 
speech he made in his own defense, said: " The Emperor, 
my uncle, preferred rather to abdicate the Empire than to 
accept through treaties such restricted frontiers as would 
result in compelling France to submit to the contempt and 
the threats that are offered to her by the foreigner at the 
present time. Not for a single day have I breathed forget- 
ful of this lesson." 

Probably these words, when they were uttered, were not 
noticed, or were only received with a derisive smile, but 
they have now a singular significance. They were not vain 
words; they were imperious and far-reaching. The Pre- 
tender of 1840 was Emperor in 1870, but still carried in 

*"Depuis que je suis en Angleterre j'ai constats dans I'esprit de 
Sa Majeste le meme sentiment invincible, celui de 1' impossibility pour 
un Napoleon d'apposer sa signature sur un Traits de paix stipulant la 
mutilation du territoire." — See letter of M. E. Rouher to M. Granier de 
Cassagnac. " Souvenirs du Second Empire," par M. Granier de Cassag- 
nac. 

30 



446 TPIE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

his soul the lesson of his uncle ; and the lesson is, that the 
Empire cannot exist in a dismembered, degraded, and 
decadent France. 

Those writers who have attributed the Franco-German 
War to the political influence of the Empress, and have 
even ascribed to her a desire to seize the reins of govern- 
ment, have been much more anxious to find reasons to jus- 
tify their personal animosities or their political conduct 
than to contribute to the truth of history; they certainly 
show how little they really knew of her character, or of that 
of the Emperor, or of the men and the influences that 
directed the policy of the Imperial Government. 

It has often been said that the alliance with Italy could 
have been promptly made in July, 1870, had not French 
diplomacy at this time been blinded by religious prejudices 
and controlled by clerical considerations — in a word, but for 
the violent opposition of the Empress to one of the condi- 
tions of the alliance. It is true there was but one obstacle 
that stood in the way of an immediate understanding 
between the two Governments with respect to the proposed 
compact. This was the price that Italy asked — which was 
the occupation of Rome. That the French Government 
should have hesitated, in fact, should have refused to con- 
cede this, as a condition precedent to an offensive alliance, 
can surprise no one who has respect for the obligations of 
treaties or who understands the depth and power of relig- 
ious feeling in France, especially in social and military 
circles. 

' ' France cannot, ' ' said the Duke de Gramont, ' ' defend 
its honor on the Rhine and sacrifice it on the Tiber ' ' ; and 
again, when General Tiirr wrote to the French Minister of 
Foreign Affairs, in July, saying, ' ' Italy will not enter into 
an alliance with France until Rouher's ' jamais ' has been 
repudiated," M. de Gramont in a despatch to the French 
Minister at Vienna, La Tour d 'Auvergne, said : ' ' Tell Tiirr 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 447 

that I have received his letter, but that it is impossible 
for us to do the least thing for Rome." And a few days 
later (July 27th), in a despatch to La Tour d'Auvergne, 
referring to this idea of securing an ally by despoiling the 
Pope of his temporal possessions, he said: " There would 
burst out in France a cry of indignation that would stigma- 
tize us. The proceeding would be more keenly resented by 
our people than the conduct of the Prussian Government." 

The position taken by the Imperial Government was that 
if Italy was unwilling to march, except on the condition 
above referred to, her cooperation was not to be desired. 
And no other position, at the moment, was possible. There 
was in this decision of the Imperial Government no question 
of the personal religious predilections and sentiments of the 
Empress or of any one connected with the Government. 
In fact, M. Emile Ollivier wrote to the Emperor saying: 
" Your Majesty Imows that I am not a partizan of the tem- 
poral power of the Pope — but no alliance is worth a breach 
of good faith." The Imperial Government merely recog- 
nized what was then plain to the simplest understanding, 
that it would be folly to obtain the cooperation of Italy 
by an act that would immediately alienate from it the sup- 
port of a large and influential part of the French people, 
without whose assistance the army was foredoomed to defeat 
and the Government itself to destruction in the impending 
conflict. French diplomacy in this matter was not directed 
by the personal feelings of any individual having in view 
ecclesiastical interests, but by common sense and in the in- 
terest of the whole French nation. 

Nor was it necessary that the Regent should yield on the 
Roman question — Italy would have soon joined with France 
had not events moved with such surprising rapidity — had 
not the first news from the seat of war put a stop to all 
further negotiations.* 

* In the afternoon of the 8th of August, 1870, while visiting my 
aunt, Mrs. George P. Marsh, the wife of the American Minister to Italy, 



448 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

The Empress rarely, if ever, presumed to take anything 
more than a sentimental interest in questions of interna- 
tional polities — affairs always of deep study and concern 
with the Emperor. Not but that she was always greatly 
interested in questions that related to the general welfare 
of the Empire, and was able to grasp their content and was 
quick to perceive its significance, and could discuss with 
intelligence and eloquence the policy of the Government, or 
of its adversaries, whether domestic or foreign. But her 
political opinions, however strong her feelings, were sel- 
dom expressed under a sense of responsibility ; this she was 
willing to leave with the Emperor and his Ministers. 

The Empress occupied herself with domestic concerns 
rather than wdth foreign affairs, and the exterior policies 
of the Government and party politics interested her very 
much less than political economy, or the application of 
the discoveries of science to useful ends; for she fully 
believed, with Bentham, that the aim and the justifica- 

who was then spending a few days in Paris, at the Hotel Vouillemont, 
the Chevalier Nigra, the Italian Ambassador to the Imperial Court, 
called to see this lady whom he had known for many years as a sym- 
pathetic friend of the cause of United Italy. The report of the French 
reverses at Froeschwiller and Forbach had just reached Paris; and the 
war, of course, was the subject uppermost in the minds of all. After 
a few words of greeting — and inquiries about mutual friends in 
Florence and Turin — "Now," said my aunt, addressing Signer Nigra, 
"do tell us something about that alliance — is it ever to be a fait ac- 
compli?" "C'est trop tard!" was the quick reply. The accent and 
the expressive movement with which the utterance of these short 
words was accompanied were most significant. It was impossible to 
mistake the idea they were intended to convey. It was quite un- 
necessary for the Minister to add, that only an hour before he had re- 
ceived from his chief, Visconti Venosta, the despatch in which he said: 
"Malaret lui-meme semble comprendre notre abstention" ; that if these 
reverses had not come so quickly — if we could only have had another 
ten days — the Italian army would have been set in motion, and my 
King — il re galantuomo — would have made a return to the Emperor for 
the generous services he rendered him in 1859, and which we (Italians) 
shall never forget. 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 449 

tion of a Government should be " the happiness of the 
greatest number." She therefore most heartily sympa- 
thized and cooperated with the Emperor in all his plans 
for the uplifting of the poor, and especially of the artisan 
classes. The strong desire her Majesty still has, as she has 
always had, to level things up, I could not more aptly illus- 
trate than by recounting a little incident that occurred not 
long ago at Farnborough. One day, after reference had 
been made to the immense fortunes of the few and the 
penury of the many, the Empress remarked: ''Under ex- 
isting social conditions, no matter how much our knowledge 
and control over the forces of nature are increased, the re- 
sult seems only to increase the startling inequalities in the 
distribution of the earnings of labor, and to multiply and 
intensify class distinctions. Is a remedy for this state of 
things never going to be found? And if not, what must 
be the consequences? " 

As it was not very easy to answer these questions, I 
said : " I once took the liberty, half in jest, to tell the Em- 
peror that his sympathies seemed to me to be socialistic. 
Whereupon, to my surprise, he frankly admitted that they 
were. And I think I may infer, from what your Majesty 
has just said, that your own sympathies have always been, 
like those of the Emperor, with the masses, and not with 
the classes. Indeed, your idea of the object of Government 
would appear to scarcely differ from that of Abraham Lin- 
coln, whose conception of a ' Republic ' was, ' that form 
and substance of government the leading object of which 
is to elevate the condition of men, to lift artificial weights 
from all shoulders, to clear the path of laudable pursuit 
for all, and to afford all an unfettered start and a fair 
chance in the race of life.' " 

Hesitating for a moment, with a serious expression on 
her face, and speaking very slowly, the Empress said : " Do 
you know that the Emperor and I, in our time, were the 
only real socialists in France? " And then, turning to 



450 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

M. P , who stood near her, she said, ' ' Is not this true 1 * ' 

And the reply was, ' ' Yes. ' ' 

As the consort of the Emperor, the Empress was always 
ready to espouse and defend his public policy, and, it must 
be admitted, with an ardor that sometimes led her to be 
more royalist than the King. But to represent and give 
distinction to the Imperial Government on its social side, 
was the chief object of her life. 

As Regent she was the faithful executor of the will of 
the Emperor and of the policy of her Councilors. When 
the catastrophe came she stood ' ' like a soldier at his post. ' ' 

No two persons, in certain respects, could be more unlike 
than were the Emperor and the Empress. The Emperor 
would do nothing except after long reflection, and kept his 
opinions carefully to himself. The Empress, on the other 
hand, expressed herself on every subject with absolute free- 
dom, and was inclined to act impulsively. She was aware of 
this herself, and has often been heard to say, after talking 
freely — too freely, " Don't tell the Emperor what I have 
said, for I should get a scolding." Her sympathies were 
strong and her temperament emotional. The Emperor 
could occasionally be moved by some new fact to do what 
he had not proposed to do, but he never permitted himself 
to be carried away by his feelings, or by the enthusiasm of 
others. 

That the Empress resented Avith more indignation than 
the Emperor himself the candidature of Prince Leopold, 
is doubtless true; and that, when war was declared, she 
was optimistic, and enthusiastic even, is also true. Why 
should she not have been ? Was she not a woman 1 Could 
she witness without emotion the immense wave of patriotic 
sentiment which then swept over France? Great injustice 
has been done the Empress by holding her to blame for feel- 
ings which she shared with every Frenchman worthy of 
the name. 

The Empress had no personal political ambition. She 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 451 

was only ambitious for her husband and for her son. She 
was the very reverse of what is called a political woman; 
she was too sincere, candid, unreserved, and sympathetic 
for such a role. Her moral personality was too distinctly 
and too strongly pronounced to permit her to play a part 
in which dissimulation and flexibility are the indispensable 
conditions of success. She was in all respects a most 
womanly woman — womanly but not weak, for her powers of 
physical endurance and her moral courage are alike remark- 
able — and was very often so directed by the impulses of 
her heart as to make light of reasons of State even in the 
most serious circumstances. 

Probably few persons remember that, after the con- 
demnation of Orsini and the authors of the massacre in 
front of the Opera House, the Empress, touched with 
pity for her would-be assassins, spared no effort to induce 
the Emperor to pardon them. In fact, she appealed to 
every one about her to aid her, until one day the Minister 
of the Interior, having heard of some new move she had 
made in order to obtain a reprieve, went to her and said, 
almost brutally, " Madame, you do not know how much 
annoyance your silly sentimentalism is causing us. Let 
us attend to our business, and occupy yourself with your 
own affairs." 

And this reminds me of an incident related by M. 
Granier de Cassagnac, which is especially interesting as 
well as pertinent to our subject. 

It will be remembered, perhaps, that the asylum offered 
by the English Government to a number of persons im- 
plicated in the Orsini affair, was so resented by the 
French people that they were for a time disposed to regard 
it as an unfriendly act, and that the Emperor himself took 
this matter to heart very seriously. 

One evening, having sent for M. de Cassagnac, his 
Majesty said to him: " I cannot tolerate such a violation 
of the right of asylum, which should assure the liberty of 



452 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

the individual and of political opinion; but under the 
cover of which plots against the security of neighboring 
countries, and projects for the murder of sovereigns, and 
those sovereigns allies, should not be permitted. I have 
dictated to the Empress the outlines of an article on this 
subject, which we must make up and publish in the form 
of a pamphlet." 

As the Emperor handed the paper to the narrator of 
the incident, the Empress entered the room. 

" Monsieur de Cassagnac," said she, " if you take that 
memorandum, it must be on condition that you return it 
to me. In the first place, as it was written hastily at the 
Emperor's dictation, I am not quite sure that it is correctly 
written. And, furthermore, since I have no constitutional 
right which authorizes me to intervene in public affairs, 
I do not wish to be accused, should the paper be lost, of 
having pushed the Emperor into the very ticklish path 
he is about to enter." And then, laughing, she added: 
" Should you attach any value to my handwriting, I 
promise to give you another autograph, which I will make 
an effort to write with sufficient correctness to defy your 
criticism." 

Looking over the documents which were then submitted 
to him, M. de Cassagnac remarked: " To say that the right 
of asylum was intended to protect the opinion of refugees, 
and not their crimes, is to maintain a doctrine that is 
incontestable ; but should the English Government continue 
to extend, until it includes assassination, the protection 
due only to political opinion, the Government of the Em- 
peror cannot be satisfied with the role of a professor of 
morals, even were he in the right. The more reasonable, 
moderate, and legitimate the concessions demanded by 
France are, the more necessary it is, it seems to me, to 
make it plain in the pamphlet, that in the case of a refusal 
we shall be obliged to consider what measures should be 
taken. ' ' 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 453 

" Oh, Monsieur de Cassagnac, " cried out the Empress 
with vivacity, " don't push the Emperor into a war, I 
beg of you! " 

The Emperor said nothing. 

" Madame," replied M. de Cassagnac, *' France should 
be protected. To maintain its dignity, its security, the 
future of its institutions, of which the dynasty is a part, 
is the very first duty of the Government. ' ' 

" Oh, no, no! " interrupted the Empress; " don't say 
that. England was our faithful ally in the East. A touch 
of unreasonableness has for the moment led astray the Eng- 
lish mind, ordinarily so just. Good sense and equity will 
in the end carry the day. But don't push the Emperor 
into a war! " 

Only a few months later the Queen of England and 
Prince Albert, with the Prince of Wales, were the guests of 
the Emperor and the Empress in the harbor of Cherbourg. 
To the cordial welcome extended by the Emperor to his 
royal visitors, Prince Albert responded: 

" Your Majesty knows the sentiments of the Queen 
towards you and the Empress, and I have no occasion to 
remind you of them. You know also that a good under- 
standing between our two countries is the constant object 
of her desires, as it is of yours. The Queen is therefore 
doubly happy to have the opportunity, by her presence 
here at this time, of allying herself with you. Sire, in the 
endeavor to strengthen as much as possible the bonds of 
friendship between the two nations. This friendship is 
the foundation of their mutual prosperity." 

No, the Empress was never a political woman, but 
always was, and is, a very womanly woman, to whom 
violence, and war especially, is most repugnant. 

That she was not the woman she has been represented 
to be, anxious to govern, reactionary in her opinions, and 
opposed in principle to the evolution of the " liberal Em- 
pire," but was, on the contrary, in full sympathy with 



454 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

the Emperor in all his generous political ideas and aspira- 
tions, and, above and beyond all the rest, a devoted wife 
and mother, there is abundant evidence. 

On the 23d of October, 1869, at the time when, on ac- 
count of the violence of the irreconcilable Opposition, the 
question had been raised of abandoning the liberal Empire 
and returning to the regime of " personal government," 
the Empress wrote to the Emperor from Cairo, Egypt as 
follows : 

" I am greatly preoccupied by the turn public opinion 
has taken with you. God grant that everything may go 
on tranquilly and wisely, without folly on the one side or 
a jerk on the other, and that order may be maintained 
without the use of force; for the day after the victory is 
often difficult — more difficult than the day before it. " * 
And again, in a remarkable letter written on the Nile, four 
days later, in reply to a despatch from the Emperor an- 
nouncing that the Opposition had abandoned the project 
of making a great public demonstration in Paris on October 
26th, she says: 

' ' I was greatly troubled about the doings of yesterday, 
and to know that you were in Paris without me; but 
everything passed off well, as I see by your despatch. 
. . . I think, i7i spite of all, you should not be dis- 
couraged, but should go forward in the way you have in- 
augurated. It is well to keep faith with respect to the 
concessions granted; this every one believes and admits. 
I hope, then, that your speech will be in this sense. The 
more need there may be of force later on, the more nec- 
essary it is to prove to the country that these are ideas, 
and not expedients. I am far away, and quite too igno- 
rant of what has happened since my departure to speak 
in this way; but I am thoroughly convinced that the 
orderly progress of ideas is the veritable force. I do not 
like sudden movements, and I am persuaded that a coup 
* "Papiers et Coirespondance de la Famille Imp6riale.". 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 455 

d'Etat cannot be made twice in the same reign. I am 
talking at random, and preaching to a convert who knows 
a great deal more about the subject than I do. But I 
must say something, were it only to prove what you know, 
that my heart is with you both, and that if, when every- 
thing about me is quiet, my vagabond spirit loves to roam 
about in space, it is close by you both that I love to be in 
times of disquietude and anxiety, ... I have no wish 
to remember anything in my life that may have blighted 
the bright colors of my illusions, . . . but I live again 
in my son, and I feel that my real joys are to be those which 
shall come to my own heart only after they have passed 
through his heart. ' ' * 

If the Empress ever declared herself in favor of the 
Franco-German War, it was not from political considera- 
tions, but for sentimental reasons, and a natural fondness 
for heroic solutions. She was at this time free from politi- 
cal responsibilities; when these came, she knew how to act 
with a prudence and a dignity as remarkable, perhaps, 
as it may have been unexpected by those who were not 
aware of the excellent good sense, the instinctive savoir 
faire that lay concealed beneath those superficial and more 
brilliant qualities for which she had long been so con- 
spicuous and so famous. 

But in July, 1870, her Majesty's opinions, whatever 
they may have been or might have been with respect to 
the necessity or the expediency of a war with Prussia, could 
have had but very little weight after Bismarck had auda- 
ciously in the name of his King, " slapped the cheek of 
France " — after this calculated insult to the Imperial Gov- 
ernment and the French people. 

The absurdity of attributing to the Empress a desire 

to perpetuate her Regency must be evident to every one 

familiar with the facts related in this chapter. And that 

such a desire would have been an unnatural one, is made 

* " Papiers et Correspondance de la Famille Imp^riale." 



456 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

sufficiently clear by the whole tenor of her life during the 
past twenty-five years. Not only has she persistently re- 
fused to assume any sort of leadership in contemporary 
French politics, but, conscious of the rectitude of her 
official conduct, whether as consort of the Emperor or as 
Regent, has declined even to attempt to justify herself 
before the world. 

It is only a few weeks since that, having read certain 
passages in the '' Memoirs " of the late General Trochu, 
recently published, derogatory to the Emperor and the 
Empress, I sent a letter to the Gaulois and a number of 
the Paris journals, in which I corrected the statements 
made by General Trochu with respect to two or three 
matters that came within my own knowledge. On my 
sending to her Majesty a copy of this conmiunication to 
the Paris press, with a letter explaining the circumstances 
of the case and the motives that had led me to write it, 
I received from her the following answer: 

" Farnborough Hill, Farnborough Hants; | 
" October 22, 1896. 

* ' My dear Doctor : 

" I am profoundly touched by your letter. I know 
what your sentiments are, and what they always have been, 
towards my family. 

" I appreciate the motives that have caused you to act 
— detaching, as you say, an extract from your ' Memoirs ' 
— in the matter of the noise that is being made to-day over 
the name of General Trochu. 

'' You will understand also, I hope, that I am quite re- 
solved to reply to nothing, and to contradict nothing, 
however painful it may be to me. A war of recrimination 
and justification is repugnant to me. I have faith to be- 
lieve that to the Emperor first, and to me, perhaps (?), 
Time will do justice. 

* ' Believe, dear Doctor, in my very kind sentiments, 

" Eugenie." 



INTRIGUES AND DIPLOMACY 457 

How pathetic that interrogation " perhaps (?) "! 

Poor Empress! Yes, Time will do you justice. You 
have happily already lived to see that your heroism, your 
self-sacrifice, your sorrows, have secured to you the admira- 
tion and sympathy of the world — the world that will soon 
forget your enemies and all their works, and remember you 
for centuries to come as one of the most beautiful and 
sympathetic figures that have sat upon a throne, as one 
whose story is the sum of all the romance and tragedy of 
a woman's life. 

And the Emperor — whose favorite saying it was that 
everything will come to him who knows how to wait — 
Time will do, is now doing, him justice also. 

' ' Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind 
exceeding small." 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE END OF THE WAR — THE COMMUNE 

I return to France — The suffering among the French prisoners — The 
Clothing Society — I engage in relief work — Hostes dum vulneroli 
fratres — The fellow-feeling produced by suffering shared in common 
— The end of the war — A National Assembly — The humiliating 
peace — The Emperor arrives in England — ^The Sedan of the Gov- 
ernment of the National Defense — Mrs. Evans and I visit the 
Emperor and Empress at Camden Place — The admirable resigna- 
tion of the Emperor — His interest in the education of the Prince 
Imperial — Mrs. Evans and I return to Paris — The aspect of the 
city. 

^^^pi^^EEING that, for the moment, I could not be 
^^*^|j^ directly of any service to her Majesty, and at 
V^Ktil^^) the same time recognizing that the war, in all 
t^tk3^&\42v^ probability, would continue for several months 
at least, I decided to return to France in order to go on 
with the Ambulance work, which I had been compelled 
to leave so unexpectedly and suddenly. 

Knowing that there would be a want of medical stores 
and surgical instruments and apparatus in the French 
hospitals and camps, I bought in London a supply of the 
things I thought most necessary, and made preparations 
to take them with me to Metz. 

To return to Paris, as I should have preferred to do, 
was out of the question. It was not likely that I would 
be permitted to pass through the German lines then in- 
vesting the city; and besides, were I allowed to enter it, 
my usefulness might be greatly hampered on account of 
the assistance which I had rendered to the Empress; for, 
during the period immediately following upon the fall of 
458 



i 



THE END OF THE WAR 459 

the Empire, party feeling was strong, and the hatred of the 
Republicans against all persons who had proved to be 
friends of the Napoleonic family was implacable. More- 
over, I knew that under Dr. Crane's supervision the 
American Ambulance was in good hands. I came to the 
conclusion, therefore, to look after the armies which were 
still in the field, and it seemed to me that I could be more 
useful in ]\Ietz than anywhere else. 

In order to have no difficulty in passing through the 
lines of the German troops, I provided myself with letters 
of introduction and credentials from the highest German 
civil and military authorities; and although, in a few in- 
stances, obstacles were met with, I reached the French 
outposts safely. 

On arriving at Metz, I asked permission to enter the 
citj^, stating the purpose, and addressing my request in 
the regular way to the head-quarters; but, to my great 
disappointment, my request was not granted. 

Nevertheless this rebuff did not discourage me. I 
found in the neighborhood of Metz, and afterward at 
Sedan, several hospitals where my medical stores were 
greatly needed and highly appreciated. But the fright- 
ful scenes I witnessed during this my second visit to the 
Continent moved me greatly, and I decided, until I should 
be able to return to my home in Paris, to devote all my 
efforts to ameliorating the condition of those Frenchmen 
who were prisoners in the enemy 's country ; some of whom 
were suffering from their wounds or from diseases, and 
others from want, resulting from causes I had scarcely 
thought of, and most of whom were without sufficient 
clothing of a kind adapted for winter use. 

I therefore at once returned to London, and addressed 
myself to several influential persons, to whom I related 
my experiences and whose cooperation I solicited. I told 
them how much I had been struck by the misery and 
distress I had seen everywhere among the prisoners who 



460 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

were not upon the sick lists, which resulted from the want 
of nearly everything, and especially from the need of 
warm clothing; and I expressed my opinion that, as the 
weather was already extremely severe, should the winter 
prove a hard one, thousands of them would succumb to 
their fate, unless effective measures of relief were promptly 
taken. 

To my great delight, my words found willing ears, and 
I was enabled to create, with the help of Messrs. Michael 
Biddulph, Thomas Hankey, W. K. Gladstone, and Leopold 
de Rothschild, the so-called " Clothing Society," which, 
as has been acknowledged by the French Government, and 
also by the German authorities, rendered a great deal of 
assistance to the prisoners of war in the camps established 
in 1870-71 near Cologne, Mayence, Coblenz, and other 
German cities. 

During nearly the whole winter I was occupied visit- 
ing these camps, and I crossed the English Channel several 
times to take to Germany or to Switzerland the gifts in 
kind or in money which had been collected in England by 
our society, distributing them either personally among the 
prisoners, or delivering them to trustworthy persons who 
had offered me their assistance. 

My first trip to the Continent for this purpose was 
made in January, 1871. I left London on the 18th of that 
month, and arriving on the 20th at Lille, called upon the 
Count de Meulan, the president of a local Relief Society. 
This society was in direct relations with another society, 
that of the Chevaliers de Matte, which was under the 
presidency of Baron Sehonlein, at Cologne, and which had 
received permission to forward goods coming from Eng- 
land, through France, free of duty and at small expense 
of carriage, and through Belgium at about half the ordi- 
nary charge. M. Longhaye, vice-president of the Lille 
Society, promised me all the aid in his power, and sub- 
sequently rendered me considerable assistance. 



THE END OF THE WAR 461 

I proceeded to Brussels on the 21st, in order to arrange 
for the transportation of supplies through Belgium, The 
King himself, when I saw him during my previous trip, 
and told him of my plans regarding the prisoners, had 
graciously offered me all the assistance which he should be 
able to render me in my undertaking; and, inasmuch as 
there existed also in the Belgian capital an International 
Society which was doing work for the relief of the 
prisoners of war, it seemed to me advisable to work in 
coope^^ation with it. 

Finding that, by this arrangement, an additional num- 
ber of camps could be looked after, and that many of the 
old prisoners were being removed to other camps, I de- 
cided to dispose of the clothing I had brought with me 
in favor of the large number of new prisoners who were 
daily arriving at Cologne, Coblenz, and Mayence, and to 
supply them also with such sums of money as were most 
urgently required to meet their immediate wants. 

The Belgian society having agreed to supply a quantity 
of wooden shoes to these new prisoners, my attention, on 
going to Cologne, was first devoted to the distribution among 
them of warm underclothing. I accordingly gave away 
there, in the name of our London Society, both personally 
and through the kind offices of the Chevaliers de Malte, 
a large quantity of drawers, stockings, slippers, and flan- 
nel belts, together with one thousand woolen shirts, costing 
one thaler (three shillings) each. I gave, moreover, to 
Colonel du Paty de Clam, of the Second Dragoons, who 
was indicated to me, both by his fellow-officers and the 
German military authorities, as possessing their entire 
confidence, the sum of two thousand francs, for the 
relief of the most necessitous and impecunious of the 
non-commissioned officers; and I promised him a further 
sum to be divided among them, should he think it neces- 
sary. 

I also found at Cologne a ladies' society which had 
31 



462 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

been organized by officers' wives, and which worked in a 
very praiseworthy manner. I therefore handed to the 
president, Madame Masson, the sum of one thousand 
francs, in order to assist her society in the purchase of 
woolen socks, drawers, and flannel belts for the convales- 
cent prisoners from the hospitals. 

Another sum of money was handed over for distribution 
to Baron Edward Oppenheim, who at his own expense, and 
wuth the aid of subscriptions, was trying to relieve the 
wants of the prisoners. 

Before leaving Cologne, the Abbe Strumpf, a gentle- 
man who spent all his time visiting the camps for the 
purpose of ascertaining the requirements of the prisoners, 
informed me that at Torgau, Saxony, the camp was ex- 
tremely unhealthy, owing to the swampy character of the 
ground, and that wooden sabots were urgently needed 
there. I accordingly gave him money sufficient to pur- 
chase two thousand pairs. 

On arriving at Coblenz, on January 25th, I presented 
my letters of introduction to General von Wedel, includ- 
ing one from the commanding officer at Cologne. He re- 
ceived me with much kindness, which I was told was 
characteristic of him ; for he was so beloved by the French 
soldiers who knew him that they called him le pere des 
prisonniers. He at once accorded me permission to visit 
the two camps established in the neighborhood of the city ; 
and Major Lainstow, the officer in charge of Camp No. 2, 
also a man of kindly and benevolent impulses, whose hu- 
manity toward the prisoners had won for him their confi- 
dence and regard, afforded me every facility for carrying 
out the object of my visit. I myself distributed about two 
thousand pairs of woolen stockings to the prisoners in the 
two camps. For the relief of the soldiers and officers in- 
terned in the city of Coblenz itself, I left with Mr. and Mrs. 
Archer Burton, English residents of that city — ^to whose 
active exertions these prisoners owed the alleviation of much 



THE END OF THE WAR 463 

of their suffering — twelve large boxes of second-hand cloth- 
ing which I had brought with me from London. 

In a similar manner I occupied my time for nearly a 
month, distributing money and articles of clothing in the 
prison camps and hospitals at Mayenee, Wiesbaden, Ras- 
tadt, Frankfort, Stuttgart, Carlsruhe, in fact all over Ger- 
many, to aid and comfort the poor French soldiers who had 
been taken captive during the war. 

None except those who saw with their own eyes these 
men in the camps and lazarettos of Germany can have any 
adequate idea of the hardships and sufferings they endured, 
to the very end of that terrible winter of 1870-71. And 
all the while their ranks were literally decimated by disease ; 
for it has been estimated that more than 20,000 of the in- 
mates of these establishments perished by diseases brought 
on, principally, by exposure to the inclemency of the 
weather. The great want of suitable clothing among them 
was caused by the fact that they were hastily called into the 
field in July, were captured a few weeks later, in midsum- 
mer, and that six months or more had passed with no chance 
to obtain winter overcoats and blankets, or to renew in a 
regular way any of their supplies of clothing. But what- 
ever the cause, or however unavoidable under the circum- 
stances, it made no less sad and no less pitiable the condi- 
tion of these barefooted, bareheaded, and ragged remnants 
of the military power of the Empire. To their physical 
suffering was also added the demoralization which came 
from defeat. They neither knew the extent of their own 
misfortunes, nor how great were those which had befallen 
their countrj^ They were unable even to communicate 
with their families at home, for they had no money with 
which to pay the postage on a letter. 

A German gentleman, who was greatly interested in 
the unhappy lot of these prisoners, wrote to me from 
Dresden, saying : ' ' Out of three hundred French prisoners 
in our camps, two hundred have not a penny. They can- 



464 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

not pay the postage on their letters, so that even the letters 
which they receive have very often to be sent back ' ' ; and 
he begged me to " come to the relief of these poor people." 
" If," said he, " we could only give them, on entering into 
the hospital, a sixpence apiece ! Please authorize Mr. Irish 
(the American Consul at Dresden) to put a thousand francs 
in our hands." 

I may add that this same gentleman wrote to me to 
say: '' Our dear, highly beloved Crown-Princess [after- 
ward the Empress Frederick] told me that she was very 
sorry not to have seen you when you called, and was much 
pleased to hear of the two thousand francs which you 
gave to us to be disbursed for the purchase of necessary 
clothing for the sick and wounded French prisoners now 
in the hospitals at Dresden." 

That many ladies — French ladies — should have come 
to the assistance of the multitude of French soldiers, sick, 
destitute, and prisoners of war, is not remarkable. A 
number of them worked nobly and were unremitting in 
their efforts to relieve and comfort their unfortunate and 
unhappy compatriots. Among them I wish particularly 
to mention Madame MacMahon, the wife of Marshal Mac- 
Mahon, whom I met at Mayence, and Madame Canrobert, 
the wife of Marshal Canrobert, whom I saw at Stuttgart, 
and who was as energetic as she was philanthropic. Ma- 
dame Canrobert undertook to purchase for me, and to dis- 
tribute personally among the convalescents leaving the 
Stuttgart hospitals, several thousand francs' worth of 
clothing and other articles. The Countess de Gramont 
at Munich was also indefatigable in her efforts to aid and 
assist the convalescents coming from the hospitals. 

But many German ladies were no less considerate and 
charitably disposed towards the poor French soldiers who 
lay wounded and sick in the hospitals. Hostes dum vul- 
nerati fratres was a motto which expressed not only the 
sentiment that guided the conduct of the Crown-Princess 



THE END OF THE WAR 465 

of Germany in her efforts to aid and succor these unhappy 
victims of war, but that of the Empress Augusta as well, 
who, when Queen of Prussia, established in all parts of 
the kingdom International Red Cross societies, to which, 
during the Franco-German War, she continued to give the 
most generous support. The Grand-Duchess of Baden took 
a special interest in the military hospital at Carlsruhe; 
and, on my making certain suggestions by way of improv- 
ing the situation of a number of prisoners, she promised 
me that the matter should be promptly attended to. In 
fact, the French officers interned in Carlsruhe were well 
cared for, and were most hospitably treated by the citizens. 

I should regret to have conveyed the impression, in 
these reminiscences of my experience among the prison 
camps in Germany during the winter of 1870-71, that the 
German Government failed to do all it could reasonably 
be expected to do in behalf of the French prisoners. When 
it is remembered that the transport service and supply de- 
partments of Germany had to provide for more than 400,000 
captives — a larger number than were ever before taken by a 
victorious army — it should cause no surprise to hear that 
the Germans were for a time unequal to the task of properly 
taking care of the hordes of prisoners on their hands. The 
prisoners were generally fairly well housed ; the rations fur- 
nished were both good in quality and sufficient in quantity ; 
and the soldiers, and especially the officers, enjoyed a large 
amount of liberty. In every respect they were consider- 
ately treated by the officers in charge of the camps ; and I 
was particularly touched on observing that even a larger 
share of military honors was accorded by the German au- 
thorities to the deceased French privates than would have 
been rendered them in their own country. 

The causes for the suffering which prevailed in these 
prison camps I have already stated; but I should also 
state that, after a few weeks, the general condition of the 
prisoners was greatly improved by the distribution among 



466 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

them of immense quantities of clothing and supplies of all 
kinds which were furnished by a great number of relief 
societies that came into existence, immediately they were 
needed, all over Europe, and the United States also. 

During my tours through Germany, while engaged in 
this relief work, I saw many things which were well worth 
noticing, and were of more than a passing interest, as they 
threw light upon human character in general, and taught 
lessons that may seem singular to those who have not 
themselves personally observed and studied the conditions 
and the consequences resulting from actual warfare. 

One might expect that the life of a soldier and the con- 
tinual sight of suffering would make his heart cold and 
indifferent, and brutalize his feeling ; and most people natu- 
rally believe — when death threatens every one — when a 
man is surrounded on all sides by danger, that he becomes 
supremely selfish and cares very little even for his friends. 

This, however, is not so always. On the contrary, I 
could mention many cases in which the soldiers whom I met 
in the hospitals or prisons showed the greatest kindness 
and sympathy for their companions. 

I was often told by one of those men, when I offered him 
assistance, that he was not so much in want as one of his 
comrades; and more than once, some of the French pris- 
oners refused to accept a shirt or a pair of shoes, even when 
they were suffering for the want of them, and pointed out 
to me others among their number who needed these articles 
far more than they did. The feeling that prompted these 
generous acts was something quite different from the ami- 
able spirit of comaraderie which is developed by association 
alone. It seemed rather to be the result of a moral evolu- 
tion, determined by the environment, that ended in the 
transformation of an original racial instinct into a fine 
sentiment of humanity — into that caritas generis humani 
which has redeemed the world and glorified it. 

In peace, the inequality of conditions among men, and 



THE END OF THE WAR 467 

the great difference in the fortunes allotted to individuals, 
create, on the one side, envy, and, on the other side, dis- 
dain and a sense of superiority. Many of those who are in 
the enjoyment of all the comforts and luxuries of life can- 
not imagine that they can ever be placed in a condition 
similar to that of their less favored neighbors ; for in times 
of peace sudden changes seldom occur, and the rich rarely 
have a chance to learn the lessons which misfortune teaches. 
Many of them therefore persuade themselves that those 
who are not as well-conditioned as they are, owe it to the 
simple reason that they are not worthy of a better for- 
tune, and they learn on this account to ignore and 
despise them. 

On the other hand, the poor, or those who are in a de- 
pendent position, imagine that they have been disinherited 
by fate ; they know only their own sorrows and sufferings, 
and never can believe that the rich and the educated, and 
those who stand in high places and hold great offices, have 
also their troubles and hours of wretchedness. Deceived 
by the glittering outside of a life unknown to them and 
which they cannot understand, their hearts often become 
filled with envy and hatred. 

In times of war the order and relative importance of 
things changes. Conditions are equalized; and the same 
hopes, and fears, and joys, and sorroAvs are felt and enter- 
tained by all. Every one knows that what has happened 
to his companion to-day may happen to himself to-morrow, 
and he treats his neighbor as he himself would like to be 
treated under the same circumstances. 

It is when confronted by common dangers and suffer- 
ing that men are most inclined to remember and to practise 
the golden rule. War is terrible; war is a prodigious lev- 
eler ; but in its destructive course it sweeps aside the vani- 
ties of life, and very often among the ruins some of the 
fairest and sweetest flowers that grow in the garden of the 
Lord spring up and bloom. 



468 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

While I was engaged as above described, the spring ar- 
rived, and with it the Franco- German War came to a close. 
The French armies had been defeated everywhere in the 
open field and, although Paris for a time still held out, le 
Gouvernement de la Defense Nationale saw that it would 
be in vain to resist the besiegers any longer. 

After M. Jules Favre's unsuccessful attempt to treat 
with Count Bismarck at Ferrieres, which our readers will 
remember, and after the equally unsuccessful endeavors to 
induce foreign Powers to intervene in behalf of France, of 
which we have also spoken, Trochu and Favre, and their 
associates, announced that the Government would rely upon 
itself for salvation ; and all the bombastic proclamations sub- 
sequently issued by them only reechoed their resolve to die 
or to conquer, and not to grant to the enemy a single stone 
of the fortresses or a single inch of French soil — ^' pas une 
pierre de nos forteresses; pas un pouce de notre territoire." 
The more events progressed, however, the more evident it 
became to every one that this mock-heroic decision would 
have to be modified. The flaming spirit — " the furious 
fool," according to M. Thiers — of the Republican Govern- 
ment was Leon Gambetta, who, on October 6, 1870, left 
Paris in a balloon, and descended at Tours, where he estab- 
lished a branch of the Government, and soon assumed the 
functions, if not the title, of a Dictator. However patriotic 
the intentions of this gentleman may have been, his efliorts 
proved fruitless, notwithstanding his great ability and his 
prodigious activity. Armies were improvised — six hundred 
thousand men were under arms in less than four months — 
but, composed for the most part of raw and undisciplined 
levies, poorly equipped and badly officered, they were unable 
to come to the relief of the besieged capital. " If," said 
Bismarck to Jules Favre, ' ' to arm a citizen were all it was 
necessary to do to make a soldier of him, it would be an 
imposition to devote a large part of the public wealth to the 
maintenance of standing armies. It is these that give the 



THE END OF THE WAR 469 

superiority in war — and you were beaten because you did 
not know it. ' ' Moreover, no intelligent or intelligible plan 
of military cooperation would ever seem to have been agreed 
upon between the Government in Paris and the Govern- 
ment at Tours; and their effective action, whether for war 
or peace, was still further paralyzed by personal jealousies 
and political divergencies. That the Government of the 
4th of September should have premitted itself to be shut 
up in Paris, only shows how absolutely incompetent it was 
to take the first sensible step towards safety. In commit- 
ting this folly, it threw away the only chance it had of com- 
municating with the world, deliberately cut itself loose from 
France, and put in imminent peril its own existence; for, 
in the meantime, the example set by the members of the 
Government, on September 4th, was imitated by the Rad- 
icals and Socialists of the French capital. 

On October 31, 1870, the inhabitants of those quarters 
of Paris where chiefly the working class lives, tried, under 
the leadership of Delescluze, Blanqui, Pyat, and Flourens, 
to establish a government of the Commune. This attempt, 
however, proved unsuccessful. 

But another attempt of a similar kind was made on 
January 22, 1871, and the Government did not prove, this 
time, powerful enough to crush the insurrection entirely, 
and the spirit of dissension and revolt among the inhab- 
itants of Paris grew more and more violent and dan- 
gerous. 

On the 28th of January an armistice was obtained from 
the Germans, in order to enable the French people to elect 
delegates for a National Assembly, whose sole mission it was 
to decide whether the war should be continued, or on what 
terms peace should be made.* 



* Convention, Art. 2: "L' armistice ainsi convenu h pour but de 
permettre au Gouvernement de la defense nationale de convoquer une 
Assemble librement elue qui prononcera sur la question de savoir: 



470 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

On February 13th the seven hundred and fifty repre- 
sentatives of the people elected to the National Assembly of 
France met for the first time in Bordeaux, and chose for 
their President M. Grevy. Whereupon the members of the 
Government of the National Defense resigned their offices, 

si la guerre doit etre continuee, ou a quelles conditions la paix doit 
etre faite. — L'Assemblee se reunira dans la ville de Bordeaux." 

The article here cited gives, however, only a partial and very im- 
perfect idea of the real facts in the case. The armistice was granted by 
Prince Bismarck solely on certain conditions set forth in the body of the 
"convention" and which Favre accepted, viz: (1) All the forts around 
Paris together with all the war materiel in them were to be delivered up 
immediately to the German army; (2) the interior defenses were to be 
dismantled; (3) all the troops of the line, the marines, and the Garde 
Mobile, over 250,000 men, were to be made prisoners of war, and were to 
surrender their arms; but — at the request of Favre — the National 
Guards of Paris were to keep their arms; and within fifteen days the city 
of Paris was to pay 200,000,000 francs as a special Avar contribution. 

That is to say, the Government of the National Defense made a 
complete and absolute surrender of everything, at the time, in its power 
to surrender; and having deliberately consented to deprive itself of the 
means of continuing the war, on these terms, obtained a suspension of 
hostilities for a period of twenty-one days for the purpose of electing an 
Assembly, "to determine whether the war was to be continued or not, 
or, to decide upon what conditions peace ought to be made." 

It is evident that after this preliminary convention between Bismarck 
and Favre the convocation of an Assembly to decide whether they would 
have war or peace, or to discuss and settle upon the terms of a treaty, 
was a monstrous farce. This convention — the so-called armistice — 
was the ignoble prelude to the acceptance by Thiers and Favre of a treaty 
dictated by Prince Bismarck and ratified by an Assembly that was 
absolutely powerless to do otherwise; and which had been proposed and 
convened for the special purpose of relieving those representatives of the 
Government who had already signed the preliminaries, or, were to affix 
their signatures to the terms finally demanded — "no matter how exorbi- 
tant^ — of all personal responsibility for their acts. 

Thiers and Favre surrendered France unconditionally to the German 
armies, and, as their act was approved by the Bordeaux Assembly, the 
German Chancellor successfully accomplished his long-cherished purpose 
to dictate the terms of a peace with the sanction of the treaty-making 
power of France. 



THE END OF THE WAR 471 

and on February 17, 1871, M. Thiers, who had been elected 
by twenty Departments as their representative in the Na- 
tional Assembly, was unanimously chosen by the members 
of this Assembly as " Chief of the Executive Power " in 
France, and a new ministry was formed. 

On February 26th the preliminaries of peace were con- 
cluded at Versailles between Prince Bismarck and M. 
Thiers, and the day for the ratification of the preliminaries 
was fixed for March 1st. 

And the terms of this peace ! Is it necessary to recall 
them? to state that they were not the terms that had been 
offered to the Emperor — the cession of Strasbourg and a 
moderate war indemnity — but that they included the trans- 
fer to the German Empire of two great French provinces, 
the payment to the German Government within five years 
of $1,000,000,000, and the entry into Paris on March 1st 
of a German Army Corps, which was to remain there until 
these preliminary conditions had been ratified by the 
Assembly ? 

On the 1st of March, 1871, thirty thousand German 
troops marched into Paris, and Bismarck came to the Place 
de I'Etoile to hear the bands play the " Wacht am Rhein " 
under the ' ' Arc de Triomphe. ' ' And squadrons of German 
cavalry were picketed along the Champs Elysees and in the 
Place de la Concorde — where the faces of the statues of the 
great cities of France — Lyons, and Strasbourg, and Mar- 
seilles, and Bordeaux, and the rest, were hidden behind 
dense folds of crape, to indicate the sense of the national 
humiliation. And it was on this same day, at Bordeaux, 
that the Assembly, chosen purely and simply to pronounce 
on the conditions of peace, formed itself into a Constitu- 
tional Convention — M. Thiers having declared that in any 
case it was sovereign — and purged itself of all responsibil- 
ity for the war, and for the disastrous and shameful terms 
of peace it had accepted with indecent haste, by reaffirming 
the overthrow of Napoleon IH. and his dynasty, and de- 



472 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

daring him responsible for the ruin, the invasion, and the 
dismemberment of France.* 

The humiliating terms on which peace had been ob- 
tained, and the unsettled political situation in France, 
grieved the Emperor bitterly. The war, however, was now 
over, and he was no longer a prisoner. He accordingly 
began to make his arrangements to leave Wilhelmshohe, for 
the purpose of joining the Empress at Camden Place. But 
it was his destiny, before leaving his palatial prison, to 
hear of yet another disaster that had befallen his country. 
On March 18th news reached him of the outbreak of the 
Commune in Paris. 

The day of his landing in England, March 20, 1871, was 
unusually fine, and thousands of people had assembled on 
the pier at Dover to witness the arrival of the illustrious 
exile. The Empress, with the Prince Imperial and a lim- 
ited suite, had gone to Dover by special train from Chisle- 
hurst. They at once proceeded to the Lord Warden Hotel, 
where they stayed until the steamer from Ostend arrived. 
The Prince Imperial, with Prince Napoleon, Prince Murat, 
Baron Dupret, Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte, and several 
distinguished English gentlemen, had accompanied the Em- 
press from Chislehurst to meet the Emperor on his landing. 

As soon as the boat was made fast, the Emperor, who 
stood on deck with Baron Hehren, General Fleury, and one 
of the Princes Murat, was immediately recognized. Re- 
peated cries of " Vive I'Empereur! " from the assembled 
multitude greeted his Majesty, who acknowledged them with 
smiles and salutes. As he stepped on shore, the crowd 
pressed so closely about him that it was difficult for the 
Emperor to advance. The policemen, however, soon cleared 
a way before him, and in another moment the Empress 
Eugenie was in his arms. He pressed her to his heart ; and 

* See Appendix IX. 



THE COMMUNE 473 

the Empress, who kissed him several times with deep emo- 
tion, and her eyes full of tears, then walked away with him, 
clasping his arm with both hands. The Prince Imperial, 
who had taken hold of his father's hand and saluted him 
with a kiss on both cheeks, walked by his side. The curi- 
osity of the people led them to gather around the exiles, 
who could not proceed until the gentlemen who accom- 
panied them, together with some policemen, formed a cor- 
don, and the Imperial family were thus enabled to walk 
slowly towards the Lord Warden Hotel. 

Upon approaching the hotel, loud shouts of " Vive 
I'Empereur! " '* Yive Vlmperatrice! " were uttered by 
the people who had gathered about the entrance, and by 
others who were waving hats and handkerchiefs from the 
windows. The Empress seemed half dismayed and half 
pleased at this homage; but the Emperor smiled good- 
naturedly, and bowed, lifting his hat to the multitude. The 
Imperial refugees stayed but a short time at Dover ; and as 
a special train was in readiness at the railway station, they 
were able to leave at two o'clock. When the train steamed 
out of the station, two or three hundred ladies and gentle- 
men, who had come to witness the departure of the illustri- 
ous exiles, greeted them with loud acclamations ; and while 
the cars were slowly moving off, the sympathetic cheering 
of the English people still for a long while reached the ears 
of the deposed French monarch, who an hour or two later 
arrived at his new home in Camden Place. 

When the Emperor left Wilhelmshohe I was in Switzer- 
land, where I had gone to look into the condition of the 
French soldiers — the remnant of Bourbaki's army — that 
had been forced to take refuge on Swiss territory, and 
whose sufferings from want of food, exposure, frost, and 
fatigue had been almost beyond belief. Thousands of their 
companions had perished or disappeared in the snow about 
BesanQon and Pontarlier; and the condition of the sur- 



474 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

vivors, frost-bitten, and in rags, resembled and was no less 
pitiable than the one which is said to have been presented 
by the shattered columns of the " Grand Army " that es- 
caped from Moscow. The disaster was even greater, for 
the morale of the troops had vanished, and an army of over 
one hundred thousand men had been destroyed. Le Gouv- 
ernement de la Defense Nationale had found its Sedan 
among the defiles of the Jura. It was the fit ending of a 
campaign begun on September 4th in which the prestige of 
a century was dissipated, and the record of which is the 
darkest and most inglorious in the military history of 
France.* 

And here it was, among these last victims of the war of 
1870-71, that my relief work ended. 

A few days after the Emperor arrived at Camden Place, 
I with my wife went to Chislehurst to present our respects 
to his Majesty, and our congratulations to the Imperial 
family, who, after having experienced so many vicissitudes 
of fortune, were now again reunited. 

The Emperor received us in the most kindly manner, 
and with the same ease I had so often observed, just as if 
nothing unusual had occurred since I saw him at the Pal- 
ace of Saint Cloud. 

I noticed that he seemed to have grown a little older, 
that his complexion was somewhat paler than it had for- 
merly been, and that his face bore traces of fatigue and 
suffering. He was now without a throne, or a country, or 
a home that was his own. Even the house we were in I 

* Incredible as it may seem, this "anny of the Loire," numbering 
nearly 150,000 men, the critical situation of which was known to Prince 
Bismarck, was expressly excluded from the armistice, with the consent 
of Favre, who, as if to make its destruction certain, failed to inform 
the Government of Tours, when he announced the conclusion of an 
armistice, that, "Les operations militaires sur le terrain des d^parte- 
ments du Doubs, du Jura, et de la Cote d'Or se continueront ind6- 
pendamment de I'armistice." 



THE COMMUNE 475 

myself had hired for him. He appeared, however, to be 
by no means depressed, but most happy to be once more 
with his wife and son, and pleased to see himself still sur- 
rounded by loyal and most devoted friends. 

He at once began to ask us many of those personal ques- 
tions which, of little importance in themselves, are always 
prompted by sympathies that tend to make the world akin, 
and talked freely himself in reply to our inquiries. The 
Empress soon after joined in the conversation, which ran 
on for a long time in the same amiable personal vein. Most 
of the things said were of interest only to ourselves. But 
the attempt of the Empress to extenuate the conduct of 
some of her enemies — to whom I casually referred — I was 
scarcely prepared for. What made her magnanimity — and 
formally expressed willingness to pardon them if they would 
only save France from destruction — all the more unexpected, 
was the fact that, in referring to the conduct of these per- 
sons, I had only used the words I had heard her Majesty 
herself use when speaking of them. Time had softened the 
bitterness of feeling which at first it was impossible for her 
to repress; and she was by nature too generous and too 
patriotic to permit me, a foreigner, to say any unpleasant 
thing of persons whose motives might be misjudged, and 
whom she still fondly regarded as her own people. Her 
Majesty's ability to forgive, if not to forget, is as remark- 
able as was that of Napoleon III.* 

* In a conversation I had not long ago with the Empress, referring 
to General Trochu, she spoke of the solemn promise he made to her 
and how he betrayed her that same day. And then, in the kindly way 
she has of finding excuses for the conduct of her political enemies, she 
said; "But I really believe he thought it was his duty to act as he did — 
that the Empire was an obstacle — that he was moved by no personal 
ambition to side with the revolutionists, but that it was entirely a matter 
of conscience with him." "In fact," I said smiling, "your Majesty 
considers him to have been a conscientious traitor." 

"Yes," she replied, apparently amused at the incongruity of the 
words, "a conscientious traitor." 



476 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Before we left, the Emperor thanked me for having 
found for the Empress and himself a quiet and charming 
English home; and, referring to my visit to him at Wil- 
helmshohe, spoke of the kindness of the Empress Augusta 
during his residence there, as also of the consideration 
shown him by Emperor William and the Crown Prince 
Frederick, at the Chateau of Bellevue, when he surrendered 
himself a prisoner. 

This visit was a most agreeable one to us ; and we were 
especially delighted to find that the Emperor had been able 
to accept the immense change in his personal situation and 
surroundings with so much philosophy, and seemed to be 
in such excellent humor. 

The Commune and reign of anarchy having been set up 
in Paris, I was compelled to remain in London for several 
weeks, waiting for the restoration of order in the French 
capital. During this time I was a frequent visitor to Chisle- 
hurst. I found the Emperor usually cheerful and always 
most amiable. But he was troubled by the state of affairs 
in France — evidently much more so than by his own per- 
sonal misfortunes. The outbreak in Paris disturbed him 
greatly; and he did not conceal his sense of humiliation 
caused by this most deplorable exhibition of social discord 
and political violence, made by Frenchmen in the presence 
of the German army of occupation, and while half of the 
city of Paris was still invested by Prussian troops. 

Although he did not decline to speak about this fresh 
disaster that had befallen his country, the subject was pain- 
ful to him, and he preferred to talk of other matters, of 
those in which his own responsibility was directly engaged, 
or of persons who had secured his confidence and esteem. 
And his conversation often became most interesting, as 
remarkable for its clearness of insight into the causes and 
consequences of events, as for its freedom from all asperity 
when it related to persons. 

During one of my visits he spoke to me of the men then 



THE COMMUNE 477 

most prominent in French polities, and I was surprised at 
the kindly way in which he even excused some of those who 
had failed to justify the confidence he had placed in them. Of 
several of his political enemies he spoke in terms of praise. 
Among them was M. Dufaure, who, he said, had always 
been " an honest opponent." He had tried to get him to 
serve in his Government, but had failed, Dufaure having 
his own views with respect to his political duties. He then 
named several persons whom he had not succeeded in 
drawing to his support, and others who had deserted their 
parties and their principles without persuasion, most of 
whom had consulted only their own personal interests or 
those of their families. " In fact," he said, " the men 
whose acts have been most injurious to myself and most dis- 
advantageous to my Government have been those who, while 
false to their origins and their dynasties, or their political 
affiliations, accepted high offices and responsible positions in 
the Imperial Government without any equivalent sense of 
loyalty to the Government they were serving. ' ' The name 
of M. Thiers having been mentioned, the Emperor said: 
" He is a most remarkable man. He has been an active 
opponent of mine, but I will forgive him, for he has re- 
cently been devoting his life to the service of his country. 
His influence in France is very great, and I hope he may 
continue to use it for his country 's good. ' ' 

The strongest and most lasting impression left on my 
mind by these interviews was the extreme ease and the ad- 
mirable resignation with which the Emperor seemed to ac- 
cept his simple surroundings and the new conditions in 
which his destiny had placed him. 

Doubtless one of the secret causes of his extraordinary 
capacity to suffer in silence, or to overlook the evidences 
about him on every side of his fall from power, is to be 
found in the fact that he was constantly occupied. Forget- 
ful of himself — unlike the majority of men in similar cir- 
cumstances — he wasted no time in vain regrets. He was 
32 



478 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

always at work on some question or matter of public con- 
cern. His interest in these subjects never ceased. While 
a prisoner at Wilhelmshohe, the light in his bedroom was 
rarely extinguished until an early hour in the morning. At 
Camden Place he passed much of his time in a small room 
adjoining his bedchamber, and most plainly furnished, 
where, surrounded with books and papers and various docu- 
ments, he appeared to be as much at home as when seated 
at his desk in his cabinet de travail at the Palace of 
the Tuileries, where I had so often seen him. Here, 
after the manner, as Bacon says, Monachi aliciijiis in cel- 
luld lucuhrantis, he engaged upon his favorite studies — 
the settlement of international disputes by arbitration, ques- 
tions of finance, and matters relating to public and even 
household economy. 

The Emperor was also greatly interested in the educa- 
tion of the Prince Imperial, who was now in his sixteenth 
year, affectionate, intelligent, and, with all the curiosity of 
youth, eager to learn. He was proud of his son, and de- 
lighted to talk with him about the studies he was then 
pursuing, under private tutors and at King's College, Lon- 
don, and to instruct him in the objects of government, the 
rights of the people, and the responsibilities of rulers. He 
wished him to study the history of France, in order that 
he might comprehend the spirit and the purpose of the 
founder of his dynasty; and he was most anxious that his 
son should clearly understand the principles by which his 
own political life had been directed. He desired to have 
the young Prince fix firmly in his mind the importance of 
adhering to right and justice, in dealing with all public as 
well as private concerns. The fundamental principles 
which he sought to inculcate in his son's mind were that 
without morality and justice society could not exist; and 
that morality and justice could only exist in a country 
where every one was treated according to his works; that 
liberty, except under law and order, was impossible; that 



THE COMMUNE 479 

the source of authority was the nation ; and that whether 
the government exercising this authority was called an em- 
pire or a republic, mattered nothing so long as it expressed 
the will of the people freely consulted. 

His affection for his son increased with his own dimin- 
ished power and declining prospects. It was now through 
him he hoped that his ideas, his principles, and his name 
would be perpetuated. He in consequence had no secrets 
that he wished to conceal from him ; a proof of which he 

gave one day when M. R , a distinguished ex-Minister 

who was conversing with him, stopped speaking on the 
Prince entering the room. " Oh, you can go right on," 
said the Emperor, " the Prince will be interested to hear 
what you have to say. ' ' 

They were excellent comrades, this father and son, and 
were often seen walking side by side, in earnest conversa- 
tion, up and down the long hallway of Camden Place or 
in the grounds near by. 

Immediately after the collapse of the Commune Mrs. 
Evans and I returned to Paris. My home I found unin- 
jured ; but great was my astonishment when I drove through 
the streets of the capital and saw the extent to which the 
work of destruction had been carried. 

The appearance of Paris was startling; and the devas- 
tation had not been the work of the Germans, but of the 
French themselves — of the Communists, by whom many 
beautiful edifices had been wantonly burned down, and of 
the Versailles troops, by whom the city was bombarded 
in the attempt to recapture it from the insurgents. The 
quarter of the city in which I live had been the principal 
battle-ground. 

The Porte Maillot had suffered frightfully. The tunnel 
through which the railway passes under the Avenue de la 
Grande Armee had been crushed in throughout its entire 
length; the roadway, traversed by an enormous ditch, was 



480 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

half filled with twisted iron beams and broken bricks, and 
the chasm was spanned by a little wooden bridge. The rail- 
way station at this gate had absolutely disappeared; not a 
trace even of its walls remained ; it had been blown entirely 
away. Every house in the neighborhood was windowless, 
with a hundred holes in the walls, and the ground was 
thrown up as if by an earthquake. To look at the Porte 
Maillot alone, one would suppose that the power of destruc- 
tion had done its worst here. But this was not the case; 
the Porte d'Auteuil and the Point-du-Jour were quite as 
badly injured ; and at Neuilly the buildings were in a still 
worse condition, for the walls of most of them were so shat- 
tered as to threaten to fall at any moment. 

From the Porte Maillot to the Porte de 1 'Imperatrice the 
houses were all more or less wrecked, but none had been 
entirely demolished; while those standing back from the 
streets, and having gardens in front, generally had only 
the windows injured. The old Porte Dauphine, then called 
the Porte de I'lmperatrice, was almost intact. The draw- 
bridge had scarcely a mark upon it, and the railway station 
and houses adjoining had, to my surprise, nearly all escaped 
injury. At La Muette, both the park and chateau were 
entirely untouched; the trees stood as fresh and whole as 
though shells had not been falling all around them, and fire 
and sword had not made desolate a large part of the beau- 
tiful city in the near vicinity. The entire estate had been 
converted into a fortress, by throwing up high earthworks 
around it, inside the moat and railings ; but I could neither 
see nor learn that it had suffered in any other way. Passy 
had suffered but little, excepting on the Boulevard Beause- 
jour, which runs along the railway from the Grande Rue 
to the Rue de I'Assomption. The houses there were directly 
in front of the fire from Mont Valerien and Montretout, 
and some of them were badly damaged. From this point 
toward Auteuil the destruction was more and more com- 
plete. The high, wooden bridges that crossed the railway 



THE COMMUNE 481 

at several points had been reduced to splinters; the trees 
and lamp-posts were cut up and thrown yards away ; holes 
six feet deep were gaping everywhere ; house-fronts were 
smashed in ; iron railings were cut through and twisted at 
a thousand points; the telegraph-wires hung in strings; 
the road was choked with debris of every kind ; and, in fact, 
it would be impossible to recount all the terrible effects 
caused by the shells in this section of the city. 

In Auteuil, however, even this aspect of ruin was sur- 
passed. Here the spectacle was really sickening. What 
the power of war can do, was manifest in all its destructive 
force ; what could be done by relentless, ruthless battering, 
here was shown. The railway station, and the high walls 
which supported it, were a heap of rubbish, on the top of 
which was stretched the iron roof, broken and twisted and 
torn, until it was no longer distinguishable by its shape. 
Some of the houses were leveled to the ground — only a mass 
of stone and plaster, or looking like huge bundles of split 
firewood. From Auteuil to the Point-du-Jour the railway 
viaduct was terribly knocked about. At the Point-du-Jour 
itself every building was in ruins. The famous bridge 
across the Seine — a copy of the Roman Pont-du-Gard — 
only slightly injured by the German bombardment, was 
nearly destroyed during the Commune. Almost every roof 
in the neighborhood of Auteuil had been damaged more 
or less, and many of the villas had not only suffered from 
the long-continued shell-fire, but had also been pillaged by 
marauders as soon as they were deserted by the inhabitants. 
No quarter of Paris suffered so severely as this. 

Proceeding up the Avenue de 1 'Imperatrice, as I ap- 
proached the Arc de Triomphe, I could scarcely believe it 
possible that this was indeed the splendid monument that 
was erected to commemorate the triumphs of the " Grand 
Army." The face fronting the Bois de Boulogne was 
almost entirely destroyed. It had been struck by hundreds 
of shells, and by thousands of the fragments of these 



482 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

missiles. It had apparently been a target against which 
certain batteries had been directed. Passing on, I entered 
the Champs Elysees. Here I scarcely recognized the Paris 
of old. Hardly a person was to be seen ; and as for car- 
riages, of all the thousands that used to line the gay avenue, 
there were none ; they seemed to have vanished like figures 
in a dream. An unwonted silence reigned on every side. 
I arrived at the Place de la Concorde. The great mass of 
green leaves in the Garden of the Tuileries, though thin in 
comparison with what it once was, was still dense enough 
to shut out the view of the palace, and only through a break 
here and there in the wall of trees could I distinguish the 
blackened chimneys of the great building, standing grim 
and gaunt above its ruins. As for the Place itself, the 
pavements were torn up ; the statues of the cities of France 
were all chipped, shattered, and scarred by bullet-marks; 
heaps of stones were piled here and there; the fountains 
were silent, one of them being literally shattered into frag- 
ments, and the other badly deformed. An enormous earth- 
work closed the entrance to the Rue de Rivoli. The walls 
above the terrace of the Garden of the Tuileries were para- 
peted with sand-bags pierced with loop-holes; and loop- 
holes also were visible in the fagades of the public oflEices 
fronting on the Place de la Concorde. Turning into the 
Rue Royale, from which I saw smoke rising and impreg- 
nating the air with the odor of charred wood, I found a 
number of people all staring up at the ruins; they seemed 
to be conjecturing as to the number of dead bodies that 
were to be found among them; for many lives were lost 
when the flames lighted by the petroleurs and the petro- 
leuses swept through these shops and dwelling-houses. 

As I passed along, I observed that the fluted pillars of the 
portico of the Madeleine were scarred by innumerable bullet- 
marks. The new Opera-House, strangely enough, escaped 
all injury ; and Carpeau 's statuary, which has furnished so 
many texts for sermons on the demoralization of the Im- 



THE COIMMUNE 483 

perial era, was left untouched. It was only after the re- 
action — the monarchical, clerical movement which set in 
almost immediately after the Commune — that the ink was 
thrown which for so many years stained the white fleshly 
limbs of the principal figure of " The Dance." By an odd 
fatality, this Opera-House facilitated the suppression of the 
Commune. The barricades of the Rue Halevy and of the 
Rue de la Chaussee d 'Antin had almost stopped the advance 
of the Versailles troops, when this building, still unfinished, 
was secretly entered by them, and the soldiers were able 
from the windows of the upper stories to fire upon the in- 
surgents, and thus render their position untenable. This 
was surely an unexpected opening performance, a tragic 
substitute for the long-deferred inauguration of the " Im- 
perial Opera." 

I looked in vain for the Column in the Place Vendome ; 
only a flat block of masonry occupied the spot where it had 
stood. I no longer recognized the Rue de la Paix, which 
I had entered for so many years nearly every morning and 
left every evening, going to and from my office. I almost 
doubted if I stood at my own door in this busy thorough- 
fare. True, the exterior evidences of serious damage in the 
central part of the city were few, and after driving about 
a while, the spectacle of walls indented, cornices chipped, 
and window-sills knocked down no longer made an impres- 
sion upon me. The principal change which affected me, 
and which I could not soon get accustomed to, was the quiet- 
ness of the streets. Taking the whole range of the boule- 
vards, from the Madeleine to the Rue Montmartre, not a 
house had been injured ; but when I passed along and saw 
how many shops were closed, and how apparently dead that 
whole quarter of the city was, I could scarcely realize that 
I was in Paris, and that this was the city which I had left 
less than a year before. 

Dismayed and sick at heart, I returned home. It 
seemed to me that Paris would never recover from the 



484 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

ravages of two such fearful sieges. Soon, however, I saw 
that I was mistaken. Hardly six months had passed before 
most of the traces of this destruction had disappeared, 
and light-hearted Paris already, ere a year had elapsed, 
forgot almost entirely the bitter consequences of war and 
revolution. 

And yet, for many long years one huge pile of black- 
ened w^alls, the remains of what was once the Palace of the 
Tuileries, loomed up in the very center of the city, solemn, 
grand, and mysterious, like a funereal monument, to remind 
the world of the uncertain life of governments — in France. 
It was only in 1883 that, becoming apparently ashamed of 
this startling exhibition of the savagery of the mob, of this 
vestige of the reign of the Commune in the Ville Lumiere, 
the Government ordered the demolition of these ruins, and 
covered with fresh turf and with flowers the ground on 
which had stood the home of the most famous kings of 
France. Every trace of the palace has been removed, 
effaced, or carefully covered up. And here it is, in this 
new and formal garden, that to-day the children with their 
nurses gather together in hushed silence, and the idlers stop 
to watch Pol, the bird-charmer, as he stands on the grass 
by the laurel bushes while the pigeons hop about his feet 
picking up the crumbs he lets fall, or alight on his head or 
his shoulders, and the sparrows fluttering in the air peck 
at the bit of bread he holds in his outstretched hand. The 
place that has been the scene of so many great events in 
French history no longer even suggests continuity with the 
past to the Parisian or to the stranger. 




CHAPTER XVIII 

DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 

The visitors to Camden Place — November 15, 1871 — The Emperor's 
health — His last photograph — Surgical advice is sought — A consul- 
tation is held — A statement contradicted — The operation — The 
death of the Emperor — ^The impression it produced in Paris and in 
London — Messages of condolence — The immediate cause of the 
Emperor's death — His funeral — " Vive Napoleon IV."- 

OON after the Emperor arrived at Chislehurst 
the Queen paid him a friendly visit; and the 
Prince of Wales, and all the members of 
the English royal family, took frequent occa- 
sion to express to the unfortunate monarch their benevolent 
and sympathetic interest. 

Equally gratifying and consoling to him may have been 
the warm welcome and the respectful homage he every- 
where received from the English people when he went 
among them. To them, although uncrowned, and now 
living like an English country gentleman, he was always 
'* the Emperor." 

It was not long, however, before Camden Place became 
a center of more than ordinary interest to all those who 
admire and sympathize with men who bravely bear their 
unmerited misfortunes. Visitors from all countries came to 
see the exiled sovereign ; to pay homage to the hero of mis- 
fortune ; to thank him for his friendship to them in his days 
of power; to assure him of their continued esteem, and 
to place their wealth at his disposition. The Emperor 
was deeply touched by these manifestations of generous 
and kindly feeling, which at times assumed almost a semi- 
public character. 

485 



486 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

But there were other visitors, who came to renew their 
pledges of loyalty to his dynasty. 

The unsettled state of things in France, the irrecon- 
cilable elements in the Assembly at Versailles, and the 
apparent impossibility of uniting them to form a definitive 
Government, began to suggest the possibility of a restora- 
tion of the Empire, vaguely at first, more openly after- 
ward. Before the end of the year the regrets of the 
Imperial family were mingled with hopes; they began to 
look forward, and not backward, and at times Camden 
Place was invested with an air of animation even. The 
days of exile were also brightened occasionally by the vis- 
its of old and dear friends, and the messages and souvenirs 
that were sent to Chislehurst now and again, to remind 
their Majesties that they still held a place in the affec- 
tionate remembrance of their countrymen. 

One of these days was November 15, 1871. It was 
the anniversary of the Empress' name-day, and quite a 
large party had assembled to honor the occasion. At din- 
ner, some twenty persons sat down at the Imperial table, 
which was beautifully dressed with flowers sent from 
France; and in their smiling faces one saw an assurance 
that for this one day, at least, all were determined to be 
happy. 

On this occasion an incident took place that Madame 
Carette has reported at length, but which illustrates so 
well the character of the Emperor that it is worth repeating 
in substance. 

A lady having remarked the recent rapid change in 
the manners, and the language even, of people in good 
society, went on to say that gentlemen did not hesitate 
when characterizing their political adversaries, to employ 
expressions so violent that they would have been consid- 
ered under the Empire as insulting. ' ' Discussion is angry, 
and old friends are divided." 

" Yes," said some one, " you cannot get five persons 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 487 

together without finding that they have five different 
opinions." 

" Quite so," said the Emperor; " that is the French 
character. Even here at this table we have all sorts of 
opinions. ' ' 

This observation brought out a general protest. 

The Emperor, his countenance brightening, and with 
a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, turning towards the Em- 
press at his side, said : ' ' Why, you — you were always a 
Legitimist. You are a perfect fanatic for the Count de 
Chambord; you admire his character, and I think you 
admire also the proclamations he addresses to the French 
people. And here is Madame Lebreton ; she is an Orlean- 
ist; she has retained, I am sure, a strong attachment for 
the Orleans princes.* 

" And as for you, Conneau " — addressing his old friend, 
who was the meekest, gentlest, and most pacific of men — 
" you are an out-and-out Communist; you have always 
entertained the most subversive ideas; you are an enemy 
of society. You have been seen at the work, when you were 
in Florence, affiliated to secret societies. You are a Car- 
honero. ' ' 

The Doctor nodded approvingly to each of these 
charges; and every one laughed, greatly amused by the 
humor of his Majesty's bantering. Then, suddenly be- 
coming serious, the Emperor explained how it was that 
he himself had been accused, and very mistakenly, of hav- 
ing been a conspirator and a Carbonero. 

And when he had finished, the Prince Imperial spoke 
up : " But, papa, I see here mamma, who is a Legitimist, 
and Madame Lebreton, who is an Orleanist, and Dr. Con- 
neau, who is a Republican; where, then, are the Imperial- 
ists? " Then the Emperor, putting his arm around the 

* The Emperor referred to the fact that Madame Lebreton was 
brought up by Queen Marie Am^Iie, and when young was a plajinate 
of the Orleans princesses. 



488 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

waist of his son and drawing him tenderly to his bosom, 
said: " The Imperialists! You are the Imperialist, my 
dear child." 

But while his Majesty was devoting his time and 
thought to questions of public interest or to the education 
of his son, who in October, 1871, entered the English 
Military Academy at Woolwich, his health began to be 
a subject of concern to himself and a source of anxiety 
to his friends. Visits to Torquay and to the Isle of Wight, 
although followed by temporary improvement, brought no 
permanent relief. Nor, from the character of his malady, 
did any such relief appear probable, unless the cause of 
the troublesome and painful symptoms could be definitely 
ascertained and removed. 

The first indications of the disease that finally resulted 
in his death made their appearance in 1863, in the form of 
an attack of hematuria, following a carriage accident. 
After a few weeks a recovery appeared to have been 
effected. But later, the symptoms of vesical irritation re- 
curred, together with other disabilities which, in two or 
three instances, required surgical intervention. At length, 
so- unsatisfactory were the results of treatment — so serious 
even had the Emperor's condition become — that, in the 
spring of 1870, it was decided to have a consultation of 
surgeons. The consultation, in fact, took place on the 1st 
of July, 1870 ; the surgeons present being Nelaton, Ricord, 
Fauvel, Germain See, and Corvisart. Dr. Conneau was 
also present. There is said to have been some difference of 
opinion among these gentlemen with respect to the diagno- 
sis, and, more particularly, concerning the urgency of a 
surgical examination. But this difference does not appear 
in the report drawn up by Professor See which is a model 
of its kind, alike comprehensive and clear. 

The conclusion was that the Emperor was suffering from 
a purulent cystitis — caused by a stone in the bladder ; and 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 489 

that the sound should be used to make sure of the existence 
and character of this foreign body. A copy of this report 
is said to have been among the papers found at the Tuileries 
by the Government of the National Defense. As published, 
it is dated — Paris, July 3, 1870, and is signed by " Pro- 
fessor G. See," alone. It has been the subject of much 
discussion — Why it was not signed by all of the consulting 
surgeons? Why it was not heard of until the war was 
over? — and of much curious speculation also; whether, had 
it been known, there would have been a war — or the war 
would have been begun and ended as it did, and so forth ; 
the absurdity of which will appear in the light of a fact 
quaintly stated by an old English writer, namely : ' ' There 
is no action of man in this life which is not the beginning 
of so long a chain of consequences as that no human provi- 
dence is high enough to give us a prospect to the end." 
But its chief interest, in this connection, is that it estab- 
lishes very clearly the nature of the local disabilities from 
which the Emperor had been suffering for many years, as 
also his physical unfitness, in July, 1870, to endure the 
fatigues and excitements of a military campaign. 

In the autumn of 1872 he requested me to come to 
Chislehurst, as he wished to see me professionally. He 
received me in his usual cordial way, with the old-time 
smile and warm grasp of the hand. I noticed that there 
was a slight pufifiness and lack of color in his face, and 
a slowness of movement that seemed to indicate advancing 
years and failing strength. 

Not long before, the Emperor, with his cousin, Charles 
Bonaparte, had gone to London to have his photograph 
taken. On arriving at the photographer's, he said to his 
cousin, " How shall I be taken? " But when the camera 
was placed in front of him, he said, " I have it — I must 
remember that I am only an exile." This was the last 
photograph he ever had taken. The portrait facing page 
228 is a reproduction of this photograph. It reveals traces 



490 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

of the sorrow and suffering that misfortune had written 
indelibly upon his features. The expression is sad, but the 
likeness is excellent, and shows the man as he appeared at 
the time of my visit. 

He made to me no special complaint on this occasion, 
although he seemed perhaps a little depressed. He asked 
some questions about mutual acquaintances, and spoke of 
the difficulties M. Thiers was meeting with in the Assembly. 
Having told him that I intended to remain in England 
a short time, on my leaving he expressed the hope that I 
would call upon him before returning to Paris. This 
I promised to do; and accordingly, about a week later, I 
visited Camden Place again. It was then that he spoke 
to me of his physical disabilities, and said that he had 
concluded to consult some of the medical or surgical au- 
thorities in London. I immediately suggested to him Sir 
James Paget, who not only stood high as a surgeon, but 
was a man of the purest character, in whom all confidence 
could be placed. The Emperor seemed much pleased with 
this suggestion, and asked me to go and see Sir James, 
and make an appointment with him to come to Chislehurst 
at his own convenience, remarking: " I shall ask you the 
favor to arrange with him respecting his fees, since I am 
no longer able to incur expenses as I formerly did, although 
I like to be liberal to professional men." I assured him 
that he need have no concern about this, for I felt quite 
certain that Sir James would do almost anything to be 
agreeable to me, and would feel it to be an honor to have 
his Majesty's confidence. 

On returning to London, I called upon Sir James Paget, 
and reported to him the conversation I had had with the 
Emperor. Whereupon he most kindly consented to go 
with me to Chislehurst the next day (October 31st). Here 
he met Sir William Gull, and also Baron Corvisart, and 
Dr. Conneau, the physicians attached to the Emperor's 
household, who had followed their sovereign into exile; 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 491 

and the case of the distinguished patient was fully set 
forth and carefully considered. That the disabilities and 
distress experienced were occasioned by the presence of a 
stone was a matter about which there was and could be 
very little doubt. But — and I think I may say this with- 
out violating any confidence — Sir James seemed to hesitate 
with regard to the expediency of an operation of any kind. 
At least, he expressed the opinion that, with a proper 
regimen and with quiet, the Emperor might live for many 
years to come without an operation. " Of course," he said 
to me, " the Emperor must expect to suffer more or less; 
still he can live with his enemy by taking care of him." 

But during the weeks that followed, his Majesty's 
physical condition, far from improving, grew worse. He 
was at last compelled to give up all exercise, even walk- 
ing, rarely leaving the house, and with results that began 
to affect his general health. In these circumstances 
the relief from pain and the improvement in health and 
strength that would follow a successful operation were 
matters too important and too desirable to be ignored. 
And the Emperor having expressed a wish to have another 
surgeon called in consultation. Sir Henry Thompson, an 
eminent specialist, who had already visited his Majesty 
a few weeks before, was mentioned as perhaps the highest 
authority and the most skilful operator in similar cases. 
Sir James Paget at once assented to this proposal, and 
said that the opinion of Sir Henry would have great 
weight with him and be most useful. Sir Henry Thomp- 
son was accordingly summoned to Camden Place, where, 
on December 24th, he met in consultation Sir William 
Gull and Sir James Paget, together with the ordinary 
physicians of his Majesty. 

These gentlemen were unanimous in their opinion that 
a thorough examination ought to be made, under chloro- 
form, in order that all doubt as to the diagnosis might be 
removed. It was furthermore arranged that the explora- 



492 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

tory operation should be performed on January 2d fol- 
lowing. And it was then that the sound unmistakably re- 
vealed the presence of a stone. Whatever complications 
might exist, this alone was believed to be a sufficient cause 
for the general symptoms of disability observed, and more 
particularly for the excruciating pains experienced. 

Sir Henry took an optimistic view of the case, and 
proposed lithotrity (crushing), which is not supposed to 
be attended with much danger in most cases, since it in- 
volves no cutting, and the treatment, which usually re- 
quires several operations, can be suspended the moment 
any unfavorable symptoms make their appearance. 

After having carefully ascertained his Majesty's phys- 
ical condition, it was the unanimous opinion of these 
distinguished professional men that, in view of all the 
facts in the case, the operation of lithotrity should be 
attempted. This conclusion having been reported to the 
Emperor, he expressed his willingness to submit to what- 
ever surgical procedure might be thought necessary, and 
requested that the treatment proposed should begin at 
once. On this same day, therefore, January 2, 1873, at 
three o'clock p.m., the first operation was performed by 
Sir Henry Thompson, in the presence of the attending 
physicians and surgeons. 

And here I wish to contradict a statement that has 
been made, and is frequently repeated, namely, that this 
consultation was held, and surgery resorted to, having in 
view a political purpose; that, in fact, it was the first 
step in the execution of a carefully prepared design to 
repeat the attempt of 1840. A descent, so it is said, was 
to be made on the French coast, to be followed by a march 
on Paris, and the Emperor, on horseback, was to enter 
the city at the head of his army. The success of the 
scheme was supposed to depend entirely upon the Em- 
peror's ability to ride into Paris on Jiorseback ; and as his 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 493 

disability was of such a nature as to make this impossible, 
it became necessary either to find some means of remov- 
ing it or to abandon the idea of a restoration of the 
Empire. 

This story, which has been told in slightly different 
forms, was either deliberately fabricated for a political 
purpose, or was the product of an active but ignorant imag- 
ination. The resort at this time to surgical treatment was 
advised, and consented to, in the Emperor's case, on exactly 
the same grounds and for the same reasons that would 
have made such treatment seem expedient in the case of 
any private individual ; the suffering was great, the disease 
was progressing, and the general health was becoming 
rapidly affected; if no remedy could be found, it might 
soon be too late. 

There was but one fact that gave color to this other- 
wise perfectly transparent invention. During the latter 
part of the year (1872) the unsettled state of affairs in 
France — the apparent impossibility of organizing there a 
stable government of any sort — ^was causing a manifest 
reaction in favor of the Empire; and the probability of 
its restoration at no distant day led the supporters of the 
Imperial dynasty to make frequent visits to Chislehurst 
and to speak of the future with hope and confidence. 
Those persons, however, who imagine that the Emperor 
was at this time conspiring to overthrow the French Re- 
public, and intriguing to recover his throne, are greatly 
mistaken. He understood perfectly well that it was im- 
possible for him, in the existing situation of affairs, to 
return to France except, to use his own words, " through 
the open door of universal suffrage." It was absolutely 
essential to his conception of the source of authority in 
civil affairs, and to his traditional sense of the Imperial 
dignity, that the dynasty should be restored only in re- 
sponse to the will of the French people, freely expressed. 
Had he not said again and again, both in private and 
83 



494 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

coram populo, that public opinion was the foundation of 
all his power, and that without the confidence of the peo- 
ple his Government could not exist a single day? While 
the Republic, or the Orleanist and Legitimist monarchies, 
repudiating all responsibility for the consequences of the 
late war, might be able to take possession of the Govern- 
ment of France, dismembered and still occupied by the 
German army, without regard to the wishes of the major- 
ity, it must be evident to every one that the Emperor 
neither would nor could do this, and that he could not 
hope to retain the sovereign power, even were he to grasp 
it, unless the French people themselves had called him to 
the throne. This was the condition of an Imperial restora- 
tion, sine qua, non. 

The operation of lithotrity being a tedious and painful 
one, the Emperor had been placed under the influence of 
chloroform, which he supported well and recovered from 
without unpleasant consequences. The first attempt to 
crush the stone was, in fact, as successful as could have 
been hoped; several fragments were broken off and re- 
moved, and at the same time the size as well as the specific 
character of the foreign body was ascertained ; but the grav- 
ity of the case was made apparent, and the suffering to 
which the Emperor had been subjected during his long 
malady was recognized to have been very great ; so great 
that Sir Henry Thompson exclaimed: ** What extraordi- 
nary heroism the Emperor must have possessed, to sit in 
his saddle for five hours, holding on with both hands, 
during the battle of Sedan! The agony must have 
been constant. I cannot understand how he could have 
borne it. ' ' 

The next day the patient had no fever, and although 
there was some local irritation, everything seemed prom- 
ising. The greatest danger appeared to be over, and every 
one in the house was happy. Accordingly, a second opera- 
tion was fixed for the 6th of January. 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 495 

This operation was also performed successfully, but 
was not supported as well as the first had been. It was 
followed by a little fever, and the Emperor's condition 
during the next two days caused some anxiety to the phy- 
sicians attending him ; but an improvement being perceived 
on the evening of the 8th, it was decided to have a third 
operation the following day, at noon. 

On the morning of the 9th, when the Empress visited 
her husband as usual, she found that he had slept well 
during the night, and appeared to be much better than 
the day before; so much so, indeed, that she had given 
orders to have her carriage and horses ready for the pur- 
pose of herself driving to Woolwich to give the Prince 
Imperial the good news of the Emperor's improved and 
promising condition. 

A little before ten o'clock his Majesty was still lying 
easily, and his good pulse and regular breathing seemed 
to indicate that all would end well. Not long after, how- 
ever, and before the commencement of the proposed opera- 
tion, Baron Corvisart observed that the pulse of the 
illustrious patient was suddenly and rapidly failing — 
that he seemed to be losing consciousness ; and his col- 
leagues, whose attention he had directed to these alarming 
symptoms, saw the imminent danger, and immediately 
realized that Napoleon III. might have but a few minutes 
more to live. 

The Empress was at once sent for, and Count Clary 
hurried to Woolwich to fetch the Prince Imperial. 

When her Majesty entered the room of her husband 
she found him scarcely breathing. " But he is dying! " 
she exclaimed. Stimulants were administered, and various 
efforts were made to revive him, but in vain; and then 
Monsignor Goddard, who had been sent for, administered 
the last sacraments of the Church. As the Empress 
leaned over him, the dying Emperor's eyes were fixed for 
a moment upon her. Recognizing his devoted companion, 



496 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

his lips moved as if he wished to speak; and then, a smile 
resting for a moment on his face, he sighed twice, and all 
was over. It was a quarter past eleven o'clock, and 
scarcely twenty minutes after the syncopal seizure. 

When the Empress saw everybody kneeling, the terrible 
truth dawned upon her, and, with a loud cry, she sank 
down near the couch of her beloved consort. There she 
remained in tears, and immovable, until she heard that 
the Prince Imperial had arrived. 

At the door of the vestibule of Camden Place the Prince 
was received by Count Daviller. Count Clary had already 
informed the young man of the grave apprehensions among 
those who were in attendance upon the Emperor when he 
left Chislehurst; and, although Count Daviller did not an- 
nounce to the Prince that the Emperor was dead, his pale 
face indicated that the worst might be feared. 

"What has happened? Tell me — tell me," said the 
Prince. But not waiting for an answer, he ran up-stairs 
and towards the room where his father had just commenced 
his last sleep. 

At the door his mother met him, and falling upon his 
neck she said, weeping bitterly, " Je n'ai plus que toi, 
Louis! " Pale as death, the Prince entered the room, and, 
kneeling down before the couch of the Emperor, uttered 
aloud a short prayer. He then arose and kissed his dead 
father. His silence, his struggle with his emotion, the 
expression in his eyes, and his movements were most 
painful to all who witnessed the scene, and his friends 
hastened to tear him away from the body to which he 
feverishly clung. As they led him to his own apart- 
ment, he gave way to his grief, and found relief in tears 
and sobs. 

I had been informed of the proposed consultation with 
Sir Henry Thompson, and the conclusion that surgical 
treatment was necessary had been communicated to me; 
and although I could not fail to remember the words of 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 497 

my wise and prudent friend, Sir James Paget, the success 
of the first operation was reported to me in such glowing 
terms as to dissipate any apprehensions concerning its final 
success that I might have previously entertained. 

Such, indeed, was my confidence as to all danger being 
now over, that I think I have never been more surprised 
and shocked than I was on the afternoon of January 9th, 
when, about four o'clock, I received a despatch announ- 
cing the death of the Emperor. I simply could not believe 
it. If it were true, M. Rouher must have heard of it. 
Instantly I left my office and hastened to the modest 
mansion in the Rue de I'Elysee where the former Minister 
of his Majesty then resided. Before I entered I saw that 
there could be no question as to the truth of the announce- 
ment of the Emperor's death. The doors of the house 
stood wide open. Visitors could be seen moving through 
the corridors, ascending and descending the stairs without 
interruption; and although the servants at first made ef- 
forts to prevent the people from crowding into the build- 
ing, they had quickly to renounce this attempt; for soon 
an unending concourse, that had gathered in the street 
and in front of the house, began' to pass through the apart- 
ments, thinking of nothing but the fearful disaster that 
had befallen France. In the little drawing-room to the 
right of the entrance, where the Emperor's intimate friends 
were accustomed to gather, Madame and Mademoiselle 
Rouher were receiving the most distinguished visitors, 
when, toward five o 'clock, M. Rouher himself arrived from 
the Chamber of Deputies, where he had just announced the 
sad news to the national representatives. In the course 
of an hour nearly all the prominent Bonapartists were to 
be seen in this little room, among them M. Henri Chevreau, 
M. Behic, the Duke de Gramont, MM. Abbatucci, Gallon! 
d'Istria, Forcade de la Roquette, the Duke and Duchess 
de Montmorency, the Princess Louisa Poniatowski, Baron 
and Baroness Farincourt, M. Benedetti, the Marquis Cosse- 



498 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

Brissac, the Count d'Ayguesvives, the Baron de Bourgoing, 
Colonel Stoffel, MM. Granier, and Paul de Cassagnac, the 
Commander Duperre, and, in fact, nearly all the ministers, 
senators, deputies, and generals of the late Empire. In 
a retired corner of the room, reclining upon a divan, 
Prince Charles Bonaparte was weeping bitterly, and 
scarcely able to suppress his sobs; while outside in the 
corridor there moved a somber crowd of men of all con- 
ditions of life — gentlemen in evening-dress, officials in 
uniform, working men in their blouses, old soldiers with 
gray mustaches and stern faces, tears running down the 
pallid features upon which, perhaps for the first time, such 
signs of sorrow were to be seen. 

In London, the announcement of the death of the Em- 
peror made a deep impression. The Times of the 10th 
said: " Indeed, since the death of the Prince Consort, no 
event of the kind has produced anything like so profound 
a feeling of sorrow in the city of London "; and in the 
issue of the next day the leading article ended as follows : 
" Louis Napoleon stood throughout our fast friend to the 
very bounds of discretion. He saw and felt that our place 
was to stand together ; such were our natural affinities, such 
our social interests, such our position. He had made two 
long sojourns with us and had learned our ways. He had 
become one of us. He did not disguise his Anglican lean- 
ings. Like his immediate predecessor on the throne, 
Napoleon III. will lie in an English grave — more secure 
there than at Saint Denis, more secure, probably, than at 
the Invalides. Received on these shores with the sympathy 
due to misfortune, and followed everywhere with the re- 
spect due to a dignified bearing and an affectionate nature, 
the ex-Emperor acquires a new claim to consideration in 
the agonies of his death-bed, the manly patience with which 
they have been borne, and the deep affection of those he 
leaves behind him." 

Perhaps still more significant of the profound respect 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 499 

for the memory of Napoleon III. entertained by the world, 
beyond the borders of the Empire he ruled, were the letters 
of condolence sent to the Empress by the municipalities 
of the principal Italian cities. The municipal council of 
Pa via, " in remembrance of the glorious days of Magenta 
and Solferino, sends to the widow of the great man, now 
no more, expressions of ardent and sincere grief." From 
Florence the Syndic Peruzzi wrote: " To her Majesty the 
Empress of the French: This Communal Council, assem- 
bled to-day for the purpose of being the interpreter of 
public sentiment, sends to your Majesty, and the Imperial 
Prince, the most respectful and heartfelt condolence, in 
the name of the Italian population, on the occasion of the 
loss you have experienced in the person of the man who 
was the stanch and liberal friend of Italy, and who helped 
her so vigorously to redeem her freedom. His name shall 
be engraved upon our hearts forever. ' ' And from Venice, 
and Milan, and Leghorn, and Naples, and scores of Italian 
cities, came similar testimonials of appreciation and grate- 
ful remembrance. 

On January 10th a post-mortem examination was held 
over the body of the Emperor Napoleon III. The stone 
— a phosphatic concretion — was found nearly or quite half 
destroyed by the crushing to which it had been subjected. 
The part remaining was one and one-fourth inches in 
breadth, and one and five-sixteenths inches in length; its 
weight was about three-quarters of an ounce. The mucous 
membrane of the bladder showed signs of much irritation, 
both old and recent; the ureters were distended and the 
kidneys diseased, but all the other organs of the body were 
sound. The immediate cause of death was attributed, and 
probably rightly, to urmmic syncope. 

The next day the body was embalmed and placed in a 
coffin, dressed in a blue tunic and red trousers, with a gold 
sash &,round the waist — the undress uniform of a French 
General of Division. The dead Emperor wore the broad red 



500 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

cordon of the Legion of Honor, and a row of medals and 
decorations was attached to the left breast. By his side 
was a sword, and between the hands, that were crossed 
upon the lower part of his chest, lay a pair of white gloves. 
Two plain gold rings — one his wedding-ring — were on the 
third and fourth fingers of the left hand, and a small cru- 
cifix was placed upon his breast. 

On Monday his body was removed from the small room 
where he died to the hall of Camden Place, where, placed 
on an inclined plane, under the skylight darkened and 
draped with the flags of the army he once commanded, 
the face in fall view, a military cloak across the feet, in 
a Chapelle Ardente formed of dark hangings and lighted 
by candles in silver candelabra, it lay in state until the 
funeral. 

The Empress and the Prince Imperial were visited by 
the Prince of Wales and other members of the royal fam- 
ily, and the Empress received a most affectionate message 
of condolence from Queen Victoria. On the following day 
(Tuesday) the thousands who had assembled to pass be- 
fore the coffin were permitted to enter the house in groups 
of two hundred. It is estimated that on this day nearly 
twenty thousand people visited Camden Place, wearing 
mourning costume, many of whom were unable to pay their 
last respects to the dead Emperor simply because the hours 
passed and the night came before this multitude could be 
admitted to the hall where his body lay. 

On January 13th I went to England for the purpose 
of expressing in person to the Empress and the Prince 
Imperial my sympathy in their bereavement, and, as a 
member of the ofiicial household of the late Emperor, 
to attend his funeral, which was to take place on 
the 15th. 

This funeral will be remembered by every one who 
saw it as a very simple but remarkably impressive spec- 
tacle. All the arrangements were made by M. Pietri, 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 501 

Count Clary, and Count Daviller. Between two thousand 
and three thousand of the most prominent Frenchmen in 
all walks of life were present in the procession, and up- 
ward of fifty thousand English people congregated to 
witness the passing of the cortege along the half-mile of 
road from Camden Place to St. Marj^'s Church. 

The people began to assemble in the vicinity of Cam- 
den Place at an early hour, though none but those who 
were in possession of special invitations were admitted 
into the groimds or near the dwelling. 

At twenty minutes past ten the hearse, drawn by 
eight black horses, drew up before the hall-door. A num- 
ber of French workmen in white blouses, the dress of 
mechanics, now defiled along the front of the right wing 
of the house. At their head was a man who held aloft 
a French flag, while another carried a large wreath of 
immortelles, bearing the inscription, *' Paris. Souvenir et 
regrets des ouvriers de Paris a sa MajestS I'Empereur 
Napoleon.''^ Flowers in profusion were hung upon the 
sides or piled upon the top of the hearse, and most of 
them were fresh violets — the symbolic flower of the Bona- 
parte family — wrought in various devices. 

At the foot of a fine tall cedar in front of the north 
wing of the mansion, some six or seven hundred noblemen 
and gentlemen of France were prepared to fall into their 
place in the procession ; while the spectators in the grounds, 
to the number of a thousand or more, were congregated 
on the lawn and near the borders of the carriageway. 
Outside of the tall rustic fence separating the grounds 
from the Common was an innumerable multitude, many 
hundreds of whom were stationed in carriages command- 
ing a view of the proceedings in front of the hall. 

Punctually at the appointed time (eleven o'clock) the 
body of the Emperor, enclosed in three coffins, was brought 
from the house and placed in the hearse. The outer coffin 
was covered w'ith purple velvet. There were three shields 



502 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

on this coffin, on one of which was the Imperial Crown, 
on another a Latin cross, and the third bore the following 
inscription : 

NAPOLEON III 

EMPEREUR DES FRANCAIS 

NE A PARIS 

le 20 Avril 1808 

Mort a Camden Place 

Chislehurst 

le 9 Janvier 1873. 

RIP 

A few minutes later the procession left Camden Place 
and emerged upon the Common, the French worlanen 
in advance, the tricolored flag in front, attached not to a 
staff but to the freshly broken branch of a tree. After 
these men there followed an abbe having a golden cross 
on his breast ; next came a number of priests one of whom 
read portions of the service for the dead. Then came the 
hearse, which was drawn by eight horses, with plumes on 
their heads and immortelles on their housings ; and on each 
side of the hearse went the mutes, carrying wreaths of im- 
mortelles on their arms. The hearse was covered over with 
a pall of black velvet, on which were wrought the Imperial 
arms of France. Immediately behind the hearse, and so 
close to it that he was scarcely visible, walked the Prince 
Imperial, in simple mourning-dress, but wearing the Grand 
Cordon of the Legion of Honor, bareheaded, his clear blue 
eyes fastened upon the sad object before him. He seemed 
deeply moved, but his step was firm. Behind him was 
the line of princes of the House of Bonaparte, in their 
order of precedence, conspicuous among whom were Prince 
Napoleon, Prince Lucien Bonaparte, Prince Charles Bona- 
parte, and Prince 'Joachim Murat. Next came a host of 
the personal and military friends and political adherents 
of the late Emperor. The ex-Ministers of the Empire 




THE PRINCE IMPERIAL. 
From a iiliotograph taken by Elliott and Fry in 1878. 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 503 

wore the Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honor ; but, with 
two exceptions, the French officers did not appear in uni- 
form; they were in evening-dress, and walked bareheaded, 
as did all in the procession. Coming immediately after 
the more prominent of the French officers and Imperial 
statesmen was the deputation of Italian Generals, sent by 
the King of Italy to Camden Place to represent him on this 
occasion. They wore their respective green and gold uni- 
forms, and had iipon their breasts numerous decorations 
and medals, and were followed by the main body of the 
procession, which consisted principally of Frenchmen — 
deputies, councilors of state, prefects, and others, among 
whom were a few French women. The procession moved 
very slowly along the winding road, the spectators remain- 
ing uncovered while it passed, and exhibiting marks of 
respect and sympathy. It was indeed a gathering of the 
friends of the dead Emperor; and there was no occasion 
for the services of the eight hundred constables that had 
been sent down from London to preserve order. 

When the doors of the church were reached it was half- 
past eleven o 'clock. The coffin was then carried in, and fol- 
lowing immediately behind it were the Prince Imperial, the 
Bonaparte princes, and a few persons closely attached to 
the family. On account of the very limited capacity of the 
church, nearly all of those who walked in the procession 
were obliged to remain outside the doors during the relig- 
ious ceremony, only one hundred and eight-four seats hav- 
ing been reserved for the persons who formerly belonged 
to the Maison de I'Empereur, and for the chief dignitaries 
of the Empire. Many of these seats were occupied some 
time before the arrival of the funeral cortege by the ladies 
of the Empress' household, and others, among whom were 
the Duchess de Malakoff, Madame de St. Arnaud, Madame 
Rouher, the Duchess de Mouchy, and Madame Canrobert. 
At 10:30 the Princess Clotilde and the Princess Mathilde 
had already taken their places in a small side chapel, where 



504 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

seats had been reserved for them. The ladies were all in 
deep mourning, and many of them were weeping. 

As a member of the Imperial household, I took the 
place reserved for me in the body of the building. Look- 
ing about me, I saw, among the number of persons whom 
I have not already mentioned, Madame Lebreton, Viscoun- 
tess Aguado, Madame de Saulcy, Madame Carette, Made- 
moiselle de Larminat, the Duchess de Montmorency, the 
Countess Clary, the Duchess de Tarente, Countess Wa- 
lewska, Countess Aguado, Countess Pourtales, Princess de 
la Moskowa, Princess Poniatowski. And among the gen- 
tlemen, the Duke de Tarente, Generals Castelnau, Le Brun, 
and Frossard, Viscount Aguado, Marshals Canrobert and 
Leboeuf, General le Marquis de Fortou, Viscount Henri 
Bertrand, General de Juniac, the Duke de Gramont, M. 
Benedetti, Baron Haussmann, Baron Schneider, Admirals 
Rigault de Genouilly and de la Graviere, M. de Forcade 
de la Roquette, Duke de Montmorency, Duke de Feltre, 
Colonel Stoffel, M. Maurice Richard, Marquis de Chasse- 
loup Laubat, as also two or three old soldiers, pension- 
ers of the Emperor, several of the Imperial domestics, 
and a number of working men representing the delega- 
tions that had come to England to be present on this 
occasion. 

Within the little church, the coffin was placed upon 
a catafalque in the central space immediately west of the 
chancel. The Prince Imperial took his place near the cata- 
falque, on the north side, and the princes of the Imperial 
family stood near him. In the nave of the church the win- 
dows were draped with black cloth, which was festooned to 
let in the light. The windows on the west side were not 
draped, but the daylight, except such as penetrated through 
the eastern windows of the nave, was wholly excluded from 
the chancel, which was hung quite around with black cloth, 
and illuminated solely by six tall candles at the altar, and 
smaller lights on the ledges below. In the center of the 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 505 

east wall a large cross made of white satin, not less than 
six feet in length, was hung immediately above the burn- 
ing candles ; and the black drapery on the north and south 
sides was relieved by the Imperial arms, blazoned in crim- 
son and gold. 

The Right Rev. Dr. Danell, titular Bishop of South- 
wark, assisted by the Rev. Mr. Searle, the former deacon 
of Tunbridge Wells, officiated in the ceremony. 

The 129th Psalm was read by the Bishop at the foot 
of the altar, and the mass commenced with the Dies Irce. 
The Bishop sang the preface, which was followed by the 
Sanctus, the Consecration, and the Elevation. Then came 
the singing of the Benedictus, the Paternoster, and the 
Agnus Dei. The Bishop then received the communion, and 
the coffin was sprinkled and the absolution pronounced. 
After the absolution, the immortelles and other floral de- 
vices were laid aside, and the coffin was carried by eight 
bearers to the sacristy, the choir singing the In Paradisum, 
followed by the Benedictus and the Canticle. A few mo- 
ments afterward it was placed in the vault that had been 
prepared to receive it; and the Prince Imperial, passing 
along into the sacristy, laid upon it two wreaths; others 
of the family mourners followed, with floral offerings in 
their hands, till the coffin was heaped high and hung 
round with these funereal tributes; and then the little 
gate of iron latticework was closed; and while the Impe- 
rial family and the mourners were leaving, and the organ 
was playing the De Profundis, one by one, to the number 
of fifteen hundred or more, most of those who had followed 
the dead Emperor to the chapel, passed by and sprinkled 
holy water upon his coffin through the grating. The serv- 
ice lasted scarcely an hour. 

Thus ended the funeral ceremony, which was as sad 
as it was solemn and impressive, the voices of the officiators 
being mingled with the sobs of the women and the tears 
of the men. 



506 THE SECOND FRENCH EMPIRE 

And could it well be otherwise, when we remember the 
career of him to whom these obsequies and this last homage 
were rendered — that almost every one of the witnesses of 
this simple, sad service, in a humble little church in a for- 
eign land, had also been a witness of the magnificent cere- 
monial which, in the very same month of January just 
twenty-one years before, in the ancient basilica of Notre 
Dame de Paris, opened with splendor and with such prom- 
ise the history of the Second French Empire? 

The Empress, worn out with fatigue and watching, 
having sat by the side of the deceased Emperor during the 
whole morning, was not present at the service in the 
church, but remained in her own room at Camden Place, 
where a few of her friends kept her company. 

The body of the Emperor was not long afterward de- 
posited in a sarcophagus, the gift of Queen Victoria, above 
which was placed the banner which at Windsor floated 
over his Majesty's stall as Knight of the Garter. 

The King is Dead — Long Live the King! 

At the end of the funeral ceremony the Prince Impe- 
rial and the members of the Bonaparte family and house- 
hold returned to Camden Place, where, in the principal 
drawing-room, the son of Napoleon III. received in person 
the condolences of the distinguished men who had attended 
his father's funeral. And then, observing the great con- 
course of people, mostly Frenchmen, who had gathered 
together on the lawn in front of Camden Place, the Prince, 
accompanied by the Duke de Cambaceres, Prince Napoleon, 
and others, went out upon the steps of the house to ac- 
knowledge this homage of respect for the memory of his 
father. Here, with uncovered heads, he was received ; many 
tears were shed, and hands were warmly grasped and words 
of sympathy or pledges of loyalty given. As he was about 
to reenter the hall-door, a workman stepped forward and 



DEATH OF THE EMPEROR 507 

addressed him, closing a short speech with the words, 
'' Vive Napoleon IV. ! " Instantly the cry was repeated 
by the whole assembly, and a rush was made toward the 
Prince, who was nearly swept off his feet by the impulsive 
and prodigious manifestations that followed of loyalty to 
the Imperial dynasty. At the very first viva the Prince 
raised his hand to stop the demonstration, but the sight 
of his uplifted hand only seemed to increase its force ; and 
after he had been hurried into the house by his suite, the 
cries of " Vive Napoleon IV. ! " " Vive VEmpereur! " 
continued to be repeated with an enthusiasm indescribable, 
and that appeared to be inexhaustible. 

Not long after this impressive scene, M. Thiers, then 
Chef du Pouvoir of the French Republic — that form of 
government which he cleverly affirmed " divides French- 
men least " — was heard to say, " Yes, let me assure you 
the Republic will last for a long time in France; but," 
added the author of the " History of the Consulate and 
the Empire," " were I to let you know all I think about 
it, I should tell you that, were the Republic to disappear, 
the Empire would be the only government the country 
could possibly accept. If the people should revive a dy- 
nasty, this dynasty would be the one they would choose. 
The Napoleons are Democrats, and their name can never 
be forgotten." 




APPENDICES 



A LETTER FROM THE PRINCESS JOSEPHINE TO NAPOLEON III. 

Among the letters found in the cabinet of the Emperor at 
the Tuileries, on the 4th of September, 1870, were a number 
from the Princess Josephine and her son. Prince Leopold. 
Perhaps the most interesting is one written by the Princess 
to the Emperor in June, 1866, in which she alludes to the 
fact, now forgotten, that it was under his " august protection " 
that the Eumanian nation came into being, and solicits the 
benevolent interest of her cousin in behalf of her son Charles, 
who had just accepted the throne offered to him by the 
Rumanians. 

" If, my dear cousin," she writes, " I can let him go with- 
out fear, it is because I am sustained by the intimate convic- 
tion that we can count upon your good-will, and that you 
were already in sympathy with a resolution that sprang from 
a generous impulse, which the thought of the protection you 
always have given to the cause of Rumania sustained and 
strengthened. Since, because of that august protection, the 
guaranteeing Powers are no longer hostile to my son, I now 
write to thank you, my dear cousin, and to solicit for him 
your advice and your support. I beg of you to assist him — 
to sustain him in the task, doubtless very difficult, to which 
he has given himself with all the ardor of his young heart. 
Permit me to add to my prayer the assurance that he would 
not have taken this decision had he not been absolutely con- 
vinced that it would not be displeasing to you. This was the 
opinion of the Rumanians themselves. They are under too 
many obligations to you to have persisted, as they have done, 
in their resolution, had they had any reason to fear that it 
34 509 



510 APPENDICES 

would have met with your disapprobation. For a long time 
I have cherished the hope of coming to Paris, and of commend- 
ing to you my good son Charles more warmly than I can by 
writing to you. I had it so much in heart to pay my respects 
to her Majesty the Empress, and to thank her for all the 
kindnesses which she, as well as you, condescended to extend 
so generously to Antoinette and Leopold during their visit 
to the Tuileries. In offering to you the expression of my 
lively, of my profound gratitude, I could have spoken to you 
of my maternal solicitude, of the hopes we have placed in 
you — in your unremitting kindnesses. Unfortunately, I am 
compelled to give up that which would have made me so happy, 
for we are in the midst of a war of which we are unable to 
measure the dimensions. Charles has the sad task of being 
obliged to defend the provinces of the Rhine and Westphalia 
against South Germany. He joins with me in begging you 
to find in these lines the assurance of the kind feelings with 
which we are imbued, and to be so good as to have her Majesty 
the Empress accept it as our homage. We venture to hope 
that she will give her support to my people when speaking 
to you. 

" It is with the tenderest affection that I am forever, my 
dear cousin, your very devoted cousin, 

" Josephine." * 

These expressions of political consideration and assurances 
of gratitude and kind feeling were perhaps sincere when ut- 
tered; but four years later they would seem to have been for- 
gotten or unheeded. If princes have not always short memo- 
ries, a political end or raison d'etat is apt to count with them 
far more than ties of family or personal obligations for past 
favors or services. 

II 

THE FAMILY OP THE EMPRESS 

Marie Eugenie de Guzman, Countess de Teba, was born in 
Granada, Spain, on May 5, 1826, and is the daughter of Don 

* "L'AIlemange aux Tuileries," par Henri Bordier, Librairie M. L. 
Beauvais, 1872, pp. 175, 176. 



APPENDICES 511 

Cipriano Guzman Palafox y Porto Carrero, Count de Teba, 
and of Maria Manuela Kirkpatrick. The house of Guzman is 
one of the most illustrious in Spanish history, and the stoical 
loyalty to his king of Don Alfonso Perez de Guzman, who in 
1291 permitted his son to be decapitated by the Moors rather 
than surrender the citadel of Talifa, has been immortalized by 
Lope de Vega. 

Mademoiselle Eugenie was a grand-niece of Alfonso X., 
and in the seventeenth century a Guzman married the Duke 
of Braganza, afterward King Juan IV. of Portugal. The fam- 
ilies of Las Torres, Medina-Coeli, and Olivares are also related 
to the house of Porto Carrero, Counts de Montijo, through the 
Guzmans. 

The mother of the Empress Eugenie was the daughter of 
Frangoise de Grivegnee and William Kirkpatrick. The Grive- 
gnees were originally from Liege, but had long resided in 
Spain. Her father, Mr. Kirkpatrick, was born in Dumfries, 
Scotland. He was a member of a family devoted to the cause 
of the Stuarts, and, for political reasons, emigrated to America 
just before the Declaration of Independence. Remaining there, 
however, but a short time, he went to Spain, where he soon 
became associated in business with his future father-in-law, 
a wealthy merchant of Malaga. Having been for a great many 
years the United States consul at this port, Mr. Kirkpatrick 
was personally well known to many Americans who had occa- 
sion to visit Spain during and immediately after the time 
when he represented our Government in an official capacity. 

How Mr. Kirkpatrick came to receive this appointment is 
set forth in the following letter addressed to President Wash- 
ington by George Cabot, United States Senator from Massa- 
chusetts : 

"Beverley, January 28, 1791. 
"Sir: Mr. William Kirkpatrick, a member of the house of 
Messieurs Grivegnee & Co., of Malaga, wishes to have the honor 
of serving the United States in the character of consul for 
that port. Should it be thought expedient to institute such 
an office, it may be found that Mr. Kirkpatrick's situation, as 
well as talents and dispositions, peculiarly enable him to fill 
it with propriety. Permit me, therefore, sir, to request that. 



612 APPENDICES 

when the qualifications of candidates are under your exami- 
nation, his also may be considered. 

" If any apology is necessary for this freedom, I hope it 
may not be deemed insufilcient that, having been led by my 
profession to make frequent visits to Spain, among other in- 
timacies I formed one with the principals of the commercial 
establishment to which Mr. Kirkpatrick belongs; that these 
have desired my testimony on this occasion, and that my 
experience of their integrity and their friendship to the peo- 
ple of this country constrains me to think well of a gentleman 
they recommend, and to confide in one for whose faithfulness 
they are willing to be responsible. 

" I am, with the most profound respect, sir, your most 
faithful and obedient servant, George Cabot. 

"The President of the United States." 

Another distinguished American has written still more 
interestingly of Mr. Kirkpatrick. Washington Irving, in a 
letter addressed, in 1853, to Mrs. Pierre M. Irving, says : 

" I believe I have told you that I knew the grandfather of 
the Empress — old Mr. Kirkpatrick, who had been American 
Consul at Malaga. I passed an evening at his house in 1827, 
near Adra, on the west of the Mediterranean. A week or two 
after I was at the house of his son-in-law, the Count Teba, 
at Granada — a gallant, intelligent gentleman, much cut up in 
the wars, having lost an eye and been maimed in a leg and 
hand. His wife, the daughter of Mr. Kirkpatrick, was absent, 
but he had a family of little girls, mere children, about him. 
The youngest of these must have been the present Empress. 
Several years afterwards, when I had recently taken up my 
abode in Madrid, I was invited to a grand ball at the house 
of the Countess Montijo, one of the leaders of the ton. On 
making my bow to her, I was surprised at being received by 
her with the warmth and eagerness of an old friend. She 
claimed me as the friend of her late husband, the Count Teba 
(subsequently Marquis Montijo), who, she said, had often 
spoken of me with the greatest regard. She took me into an- 
other room and showed me a miniature of the Count, such 
as I had known him with a black patch over one eye. She sub- 



APPENDICES 513 

sequently introduced me to the little girls I had known at 
Granada — now fashionable belles at Madrid. 

" After this I was frequently at her house, which was one 
of the gayest in the capital. The Countess and her daughters 
all spoke English. The eldest daughter was married, while 
I was in Madrid, to the Duke of Alva and Berwick, the lineal 
successor to the pretender to the British Crown. The other 
now sits on the throne of France." 

Of the mother of the Empress, Mr. George Ticknor, the 
author of the "History of Spanish Literature," writes, in 
1818, as follows : 

" I knew Madame de Teba in Madrid, when she was there 
on a visit last summer; and from what I saw of her then and 
here (Malaga), where I saw her every day, I do not doubt she 
is the most cultivated and the most interesting woman in 
Spain. Young and beautiful, educated strictly and faithfully 
by her mother — who for this purpose carried her to London 
and Paris, and kept her there between six and seven years — 
possessing extraordinary talents, and giving an air of orig- 
inality to all she says and does, she unites, in a most bewitch- 
ing manner, the Andalusian grace and frankness to a French 
facility in her manners and a genuine English thoroughness 
in her knowledge and accomplishments. She knows the five 
chief modern languages well, and feels their different char- 
acters, and estimates their literatures aright. She has the for- 
eign accomplishments of singing, playing, painting, etc., and 
the national one of dancing, in a high degree. In conversation 
she is brilliant and original ; and yet with all this she is a true 
Spaniard, and as full of Spanish feelings as she is of talent 
and culture." 

in 

THE emperor's FORTUNE 

On account of the currency given to reports that the Em- 
peror had amassed and left an enormous private fortune, soon 



514 APPENDICES 

after his death the solicitors of the Empress addressed the 
following communication to the press: 

"Incorrect statements having repeatedly appeared in both 
English and foreign newspapers regarding the will of the late 
Emperor Napoleon, we think it right, as solicitors for the ad- 
ministratrix, to state that all such rumors as have hitherto 
been published are without authority and inaccurate. Un- 
avoidable circumstances have occasioned some delay in the 
publication of the will, but letters of administration cum 
testamento annexo have now been applied for, and, in order 
to avoid the possibility of further misrepresentation, we are 
authorized to transmit to you a copy of the will for publi- 
cation. . . . 

" The estate has been sworn under £120,000 ; but it is right 
to state that this sum is subject to claims which will reduce 
the amount actually received by the administratrix to about 
one-half of the sum named. 

[Signed] " Markby, Parry & Stewart, 

*' April 27th. 37 Coleman Street, E. C." 



IV 



SPEECH OF LORD BROUGHAM 

" London, 6 Grafton Street, June 12, 1864. 
"My dear Dr. Evans: 

" I hope your countrymen will be satisfied with my eulogy 
of them the other day in the Lords. It was so inaccurately 
given in most of the papers, that I shall send you an accurate 
account of it, which I shall have in a few days. 
" Believe me, most sincerely yours, 

" H. Brougham." 

" The Accurate Account " 

" Lord Brougham, in rising to second the motion, wished 
to make a few observations on some parts of his noble friend's 
(Lord Clanricarde's) statements. No one could lament more 



APPENDICES 515 

deeply than he did, not only the cruel and calamitous civil 
war which had been waging for the last three years in America, 
but the conduct of many of our countrymen in joining in this 
dreadful contest, more particularly those who came from that 
part of the country to which his noble friend belonged, and 
who, he lamented to say, had in great numbers entered the 
Federal army. He highly disapproved of the conduct of the 
Federal Government not only in the attempt which they began 
but could not carry out, to establish depots for raising foreign 
recruits, but he disapproved as entirely of their taking men 
— even if they did not inveigle them by the tricks which had 
been described — taking them even when the men honestly en- 
tered, and entered knowing what they were doing, even though 
not deceived by crimps and deluded under the influence of 
strong liquor. The men were told they were going merely to 
labor in the fields, and after they were there they were told 
there was no work for them, and they were asked, ' Will you 
please come into the army ? ' But even suppose the most hon- 
est and fair contract made between these Irishmen and the 
recruiting officers of the Federal Government, he still disap- 
proved of the course they had adopted. What was their com- 
plaint against us? That we were not sufficiently neutral — 
that we did not hold the balance even between the two parties, 
Federals and Confederates. Both parties in America, he be- 
lieved, complained of us in this respect; but could there be 
a more open infraction of neutrality than the conduct of those 
who compel the poor Irish immigrants to enter their service, 
or who take them into their service ? They were taking men into 
their service who were guilty of an offense punishable severely 
in this country. These men were criminals. The crime of 
which they were guilty had lately been made a misdemeanor 
by the Foreign Enlistment Act; but in the reign of George 
II. it was felony, and at one time it was a capital felony. 
The men were still criminals, and the Federal Government 
employed men knowing them to be criminals [illegible] into 
their service. Time was when those same Americans com- 
plained bitterly of our employing foreign troops to subdue 
them — to do the very same thing toward them which the Fed- 
erals were now doing toward the Confederates — endeavoring 



516 APPENDICES 

to restore the Union — that was to conquer, or attempting to 
conquer, the Confederates by foreign troops. In the drafts 
to supply the enormous demands which this most lamentable 
war had made — he believed not less than six hundred thousand 
in the course of the last two years — they took no regiments 
or corps, but thousands of persons from Germany, and, he 
grieved to say, hundreds, at least, from Ireland. The Germans 
formed a great part of their resources to supply the blanks 
which this cruel war had made. These Americans complained 
of our conduct in 1778; and the worst thing they considered 
we did, in attempting their conquest, was the employment of 
Hessian and other German regiments in the course of the 
war. The eloquence of Mr. Burke and of Lord Chatham made 
the walls of Parliament ring with complaints of the German 
mercenaries being taken into the pay of the Government for 
the purpose of subduing America. Now these Americans were 
doing the selfsame thing, not by taking corps, but thousands 
of individuals who are foreigners, into their service, and em- 
ploying them against the Confederates. 

" Would that his voice, which he feared hardly reached 
across the House, could reach across the Atlantic, that he 
might in all kindness and respect remind his old friends and 
clients, for whom he in times past had stood the champion, 
defending their actions, exalting their character, so that he 
was represented as setting them down above his own country- 
men, when he used to be called the Attorney-General of Mad- 
ison, the tool of the Jeffersons and Monroes. He now implored 
them to listen to his friend's declarations that they had done 
enough for glory and fame, had shown their boundless forti- 
tude, their unsurpassed courage, their endless sacrifices, not 
more careless of the lives of others than of their own. Let 
them be well assured that there is but one feeling all over 
Europe of reprobation of the accursed, unnatural civil war, of 
sorrow for their sufferings under it, and of deep desire for 
the restoration of peace to bless the New World and to gratify 
the sympathies of the Old. This was no time for intervention, 
which might do harm and could be productive of no good. 
He had refused to present petitions from many considerable 
bodies anxious for that interference, as affording a hope of 



APPENDICES 517 

peace. He had refused to present them as inopportune. But 
he had a fervent hope that the occasion might before long 
arrive when this country, and her peaceful ally across the 
Channel, under a wise ruler, anxious for America's peace, 
would do good by offering their mediation between the con- 
tending parties, aiding them in arriving at just and reason- 
able terms, restoring the fruit of blessings to all nations, a 
tranquil and independent existence, with the establishment of 
universal prosperity and the uninterrupted progress of social 
improvement." 

THE FALSIFIED DESPATCH 

The history of this despatch, briefly stated, is as follows: 
The French Government was informed on July 12th by the 
Spanish Ambassador, that the candidature of Prince Leopold 
had been withdrawn by his father, Prince Antoine. On the 
same day the Duke de Gramont, in making the announcement 
to M. Benedetti, said : 

" In order that the renunciation should produce its full 
effect, it would seem necessary that the King of Prussia 
should associate himself with it, and give a full assurance 
that he will not authorize it should it come up again." 

On the following day, in accordance with his instructions, 
M. Benedetti — the King coming forward to greet him as he 
was walking on the promenade at Ems — took the occasion to 
inform the King that his Government desired to have some 
assurance from him that the candidature of Prince Leopold 
would not be brought up again with his Majesty's consent. 
Without making any promises, the King, at the close of the 
interview, told M. Benedetti that he was expecting every mo- 
ment letters from Sigmaringen, and that as soon as he had 
received them he would send for him. 

But during the course of the day the King received des- 
patches from M. de Werther, his ambassador at Paris, which 
displeased him; and, about four o'clock, he sent one of his 
aides to the French ambassador to inform him that, while 



518 APPENDICES 

the King approved of the withdrawal of the candidature, with 
respect to the future he could only repeat what he had already 
said. An hour later, on asking for the promised interview, 
M. Benedetti received from one of his Majesty's secretaries 
a formal but perfectly courteous note, in which the King ex- 
pressed his regret that he was really unable to say anything 
more on the subject than he had said dui'ing their interview 
that morning. 

In reporting these proceedings to the North-German Chan- 
cellor — proceedings in which, as M. Benedetti has said, " No 
one was either insulting or insulted " — the Counselor Abeken 
sent, in the name of the King, the following despatch: 

"Ems, July 13th, 1870, 3:50 p.m. 
" Count Benedetti met me to-day on the promenade. He 
requested me very urgently to promise never to authorize a 
new Hohenzollern candidature. I proved to him in the most 
positive manner that it was impossible to make in this way 
engagements forever binding. Naturally, I added that up to 
the present time I had received nothing, and that, since he was 
thus informed sooner by the way of Paris and Madrid, it was 
clearly evident that my Government was out of the question." 
To these words of the King the Counselor added, that the 
King had since received a letter from the Prince confirming 
the announcement of the renunciation, but that the King had 
concluded to inform M. Benedetti of this through an aide-de- 
camp, and not to see him personally on account of his claim, 
having nothing more to say, ending the despatch as follows: 
" His Majesty leaves it entirely to your Excellency to decide 
if this new requirement, and the refusal it has met with, 
should be communicated to the Embassies and to the Press." 

This despatch reached Count Bismarck about five o'clock, 
when he was dining with Generals von Moltke and von Boon. 
" On reading it," says Bismarck, " my guests were so discour- 
aged that they could neither eat nor drink." The despatch, 
if it indicated relations still strained, announced no rupture; 
peace might be expected. The despatch was read over and 
over and commented upon. Finally Bismarck said: "I think 



APPENDICES 519 

I can fix it. The King leaves me entirely at liberty to com- 
municate this information to the Press. It will only be nec- 
essary to paraphrase it a little — to make a few suppressions, 
to slightly change the tone." Thereupon he sat down and wrote 
out the following communication, to be sent officially to the 
Embassies and the Press: 

" The news of the renunciation of the hereditary Prince 
of Hohenzollem has been officially communicated to the French 
Imperial Government by the Royal Government of Spain. 
The French ambassador has since, at Ems, addressed to his 
Majesty the King the demand that he be authorized to tele- 
graph to Paris that his Majesty the King pledges himself for- 
ever not to permit this candidature to be brought up again. 
Whereupon his Majesty has refused to see the ambassador 
again, and has informed him, through his aide-de-camp-in- 
waiting, that he has nothing more to communicate to him." 

Then he read to his guests the text he had prepared. They 
were delighted. " It sounds now," said Moltke, " like a provo- 
cation given with a blast of trumpets." " You see," said 
Bismarck, " it is essential that we should be the ones who 
are attacked. Now, if I send this text to the newspapers, and 
to all our ambassadors, it will soon be known in Paris, and, 
not only on account of what it says, but from the way in 
which it will have been spread about, will produce down there 
upon the French hull the effect of a red flag.^' And everybody 
knows that it did have exactly the effect intended and expected. 

The reader will observe that King William had not refused 
to see M. Benedetti, but had only informed him that on the sub- 
ject of guarantees he had nothing more to say than he had 
already said. As a matter of fact, M. Benedetti was received by 
the King on the following day, July 14th, at the railway sta- 
tion, when his Majesty was about to leave Ems for Coblenz. 

A great deal has been said about " the rashness " of the 
request addressed to King William after the renunciation of 
Prince Leopold had been officially communicated to the French 
Foreign Office. But in reality this request only became im- 
portant, in the chain of events that led to the declaration of 
war, after Count Bismarck seized upon it as the pretext for 
a Macchiavellian invention — the alleged insult to the French 



520 APPENDICES 

Government. The Hohenzollern candidature had apparently 
been settled once before, in April, 1870; and having again 
been brought up, and a second time renounced, in the course 
of three months, however inexpedient it may now seem to have 
been to raise the question, it was then only natural that the 
Imperial Government should wish to have some assurance that 
this irritating affair might be considered as finally disposed 
of. Nor was the request made in a way to imply that such 
an assurance was a condition indispensable to the maintenance 
of friendly relations between the two governments. 

VI 

CONCERNING THE REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY 

M. Emile Ollivier, on being offered by Walewski a min- 
istry in the Imperial Government, made it a condition that 
this project of reorganizing the army should be abandoned. 
When shortly afterward, on the 10th of January, 1867, he had 
his first personal interview with the Emperor, after a few words 
of salutation the conversation, as reported by M. Ollivier in 
the ninth volume of his " L'Empire Liberal," opened as fol- 
lows: 

" ' Endeavor,' said I, ' by all possible means, for the time 
being at least, to keep the reorganization of the army within 
the limits of the budget and of its present strength.' To 
which the Emperor replied : ' A serious reorganization is in- 
dispensable; the necessity for this was made apparent to me 
in Italy. It was the smallness of our army and the impossibil- 
ity of having another on the Rhine which forced upon me the 
treaty of Villafranca. How is it possible to rest inert after 
the lessons of the last war [the Austro-Prussian War of 1866] ? 
I know that my project is unpopular, but we must learn to 
bravely face unpopularity when it is necessary to do our duty.' 
I did not deny the necessity of a serious reorganization of our 
military mechanism, only I added : * Your Majesty has real- 
ized the most urgent of these reforms by adopting the chasse- 
pot; there are others not less necessary, which, according to 
those who are competent to speak on these subjects, should be 



APPENDICES 521 

introduced into our tactics, our method of mobilization, and 
our supply department; but cannot all this be done without 
touching our organic law of recruitment? Two days ago, at 
your cousin's, I listened to a conversation between Niel, 
Trochu, and Lebrun, whose conclusion was that on account 
of the length of our military service and our system of re- 
serves, which could be still further improved, and the elasticity 
of the active force, our army possessed a solidity which the 
Prussian system, more democratic but less military, would 
weaken.' This the Emperor would not admit. He maintained 
that numbers would have henceforth in war an importance 
that would prove decisive; that the present organization gave 
us no assurance of this, and that assurance on this point was 
absolutely necessary." 

On the following day, at the Emperor's request, M. Ollivier 
saw the Empress and again offered his objections to an in- 
crease of the army. Of this interview he writes : " With a 
very exact knowledge of the subject, and with real eloquence, 
she explained to me that a reform was urgent; that it had 
been put off already too long; that she had been convinced on 
this subject since 1859. ' In view of an attack on the Rhine,' 
said she, ' my uncle Jerome wished me then to sign a decree 
calling out three hundred thousand National Guards. Not- 
withstanding a majority of the Ministers were of his opinion, I 
was unwilling to sign at this time, in the presence of Europe, a 
confession of our militaiy impotency. Thereupon my uncle 
arose, and said to me, " You are losing France ; you are expo- 
sing us to an invasion." " In any event," I replied, " I shall 
not fly from before the enemy, as Marie Louise did — even, my 
uncle, were you to advise me to do so." 

" * I wrote to the Emperor, and the peace of Villaf ranca 
was signed. We should take care that we do not find our- 
selves some day in a similar situation.' " 

These conversations, in the light of subsequent events, 
show how clearly both the Emperor and the Empress under- 
stood the military needs of France, and that they distinctly 
foresaw the serious risks that would be incurred in the event 
of a war with any great Power, unless the army was consid- 
erably increased. 



522 APPENDICES 



VII 



THE LOYALTY OF GENERAL TROCHU 

Doubts with respect to the loyalty of General Trochu, that 
were suggested especially by a letter published in the Temps 
under his signature, almost immediately after he had assumed 
the duties of his office, caused the Council of Ministers to 
request one of their number to say to the General, at a meeting 
of the Council, that an explanation from him on this point 
was desirable. The General having answered equivocally, the 
Minister again put the question categorically, and in the pres- 
ence of the Empress and the Council. General Trochu then 
answered as follows : " I am astonished that any one should 
persist in asking such a question of a French general. In 
accepting the functions of Governor of Paris, I was confronted 
by the supposition that the dynasty or the Assembly might be 
threatened. Should this happen, I reply on my old Breton 
faith, that, to defend the dynasty I will come and die on the 
steps of the Tuileries." To this burst of devotion the Em- 
press answered : " Think first of saving France. I know what 
may happen to the dynasty. As for myself, I wish to retire 
worthily." At the close of the sitting, General Trochu said 
to M. David, speaking of the Empress and her last words: 
" This woman is admirable. She is a Roman. I am greatly 
impressed by her bearing and by her conduct. I am entirely 
devoted to her." " May I repeat to her what you tell me ? " 
said M. David. " Certainly," replied General Trochu.* 

M. Magne, Minister of Finance in the Cabinet of the Regent, 
when called as a witness in the case of Trochu vs. Villemessant 
said: 

" On a certain occasion General Trochu told the Council 
that he had made a speech to the officers of a battalion of the 
National Guard, and that he thought it to be his duty to 
represent to them the dangers, the privations, and the suffer- 
ings to which they were about to find themselves exposed; that 

* Deposition de M. Jules Brame. " Enquete Parlementaire," tome 
i, p. 201. 



APPENDICES 523 

he told them, at the same time, that it would require great 
firmness of character to resist the emotion which one must feel 
on seeing his comrades, his friends, and sometimes his chil- 
dren, falling about him. He said, moreover, at this moment 
the officers of the battalion, who had appeared at first very 
resolute, seemed to be deeply impressed by the words which 
they had heard. 

" On hearing this, the Empress sti'aightened up, as if moved 
by a spring, and said : ' What, General — you said that to them ! 
But then, on whom are we to count ? Very well. If the Prus- 
sians come, I will go myself upon the ramparts, and there 
I will show how a woman can face danger, when it is a ques- 
tion of her country's safety.' 

" The General replied that his words had been misunder- 
stood; that the officers of the battalion were full of devotion, 
and that they could be counted upon absolutely. The words 
which I have just cited were certainly pronounced either at the 
time mentioned or at another. The General added : ' Madame, 
there is only one way of proving to you my devotion; it is 
for me to get killed, should it be necessary for your Majesty's 
safety and that of the dynasty.' 

" This is what I heard, and I think [turning to General 
Trochu, who was present] that the General himself remembers 
it." Whereupon General Trochu made a sign of assent.* 

VIII 

EXTRACTS FROM OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT 

" Among the members of the Corps legislatif whom the 
triumphant insurrection carried to the Hotel de Ville, there 
is not a single one who has not disavowed any participation 
whatsoever in the invasion of the Assembly. There is not one 
who has not declared himself an absolute stranger to the work 
of preparing the blow by means of which the national represen- 
tation was overthrown. MM. J. Favre, J. Simon, J. Ferry, 
Pelletan, Garnier Pages, Em. Arago, Gambetta, all except M. 
de Keratry, speak in the same terms of this matter. . . . 

* " L'Empire et la Defense de Paris," par le General Trochu, p. 85. 



5U APPENDICES 

"If, during the night of September 3d and 4th, incited by 
the news from Sedan, a manifestation was resolved upon, the 
deputies of the Opposition declare that this resolution was 
taken without their cooperation and quite outside of them. 

" Following the very wise advice that M. Thiers had given 
them, far from participating in this movement, they sought, 
they say, to hold it in check. They struggled hard, but they 
were unable to resist the current, and were compelled them- 
selves to submit to the impulse which they had not given. 
Carried off by the crowd, they put themselves at its head, and 
associated themselves with an act which they had not wished, 
after that act had become an accomplished fact. 

" The leaders of the insurrection of September 4th — if one 
is to believe these witnesses — are not to be found among the 
members of the Legislative Body. . . . We confine ourselves 
to a statement of the facts as they result from the testi- 
mony received, and we repeat that the Deputies, members of 
the Opposition, with the exception of M. de Keratry, have repu- 
diated energetically all participation in the preparation of an 
act so culpable as the assault upon an Assembly elected by 
universal suffrage, and to which they belonged ; that they for- 
mally disavow any complicity in this act, the responsibility 
of which belongs — if the opinion of certain witnesses is well- 
founded — to those who were conspiring before September 4th, 
and who have conspired since; who, after having been the 
authors of the insurrection of this day, became the authors 
of the insurrections that followed on October 31st, January 
22d, and March 18th; to those, in fact, who were the enemies 
of all government and the scourge of every community." * 

M. Jules Ferry, in his testimony before the Parliamentary 
Commission of Inquiry, said : " It is necessary for me to ex- 
plain what our own situation was as Republican Deputies of 
the city of Paris with respect to a certain portion of the Re- 
publican party. 

" This situation was very difficult. We were elected in 
1869, and that election showed already the kind of obstruction 

* " Rapport fait au nom de la Commission d'Enquete sur les actes du 
Gouvernement de la Defense Nationale. ' ' Par M. le Comte Dam, p. 41 £f. 



APPENDICES 525 

which we as Republicans were about to encounter. M. Jules 
Favre was only elected after a second ballot, and with extreme 
difficulty. From that time public meetings began to be held, 
the violence in which was of very bad omen. After our elec- 
tion, and during that sort of interregnum in the Imperial 
Government which ended in the formation of a Parliamentary 
Ministry, during this period, which included several months, 
we had — it is necessary that it should be known, and we ought 
to speak it out for the history of our time — great difficulty 
at every moment with the party which we called then by a very 
mild name, the party of ' impatients,' which became a little 
later the party of the * exaltes,' and finally the party of ' an- 
archy,' over which we have had such difficulty to get the upper 
hand in these later times. 

" From the day that we were elected we found this party 
blocking our way, as an enemy. We were constantly convoked 
to meetings, at which we were publicly accused. Every day 
impossible manifestations were got up. You remember, per- 
haps, that one which it was proposed to hold in October, 1869, 
the Chamber not having been assembled within the period fixed 
by the law. The ' clubs ' then decided that it was our duty 
as Deputies to appear on the Place de la Concorde, on the 
26th of that month, I think. (See Chapter XVI, page 454.) 

" When, finally, the Parliamentary Ministry was constituted, 
we had the funeral of Victor Noir, 'the affair Pierre Bona- 
parte,' as it was then called, and we were placed in the posi- 
tion of men who had not the Government in their hands, but 
who were obliged to resist the tail of their party exactly as if 
they were responsible. A portion of those who had elected us, 
understanding absolutely nothing of the political situation, 
obedient solely to their own passions and the excitations of 
the newspapers and public meetings, dreamed only of popular 
manifestations' copied after the demonstrations of the first 
Revolution. All this was truly for us a subject of perpetual 
torment. 

" At the head of this party was a member of the Assembly, 

M. Milliere; he seemed to be the cleverest of all these leaders. 

When we reached the Hotel de Ville, on September 4th, M. 

Milliere was already there, and he was not alone. Two men 

35 



526 APPENDICES 

especially attracted our attention by their attitude and by their 
efforts. They were : one of them, M. Milliere, who was harangu- 
ing the crowd in the great Throne Eoom, and the other M. 
Delescluze, who was roaming about the Cabinet, where we had 
formed the first Government Commission. 

" If we had not known the profound differences among the 
revolutionary elements in the city of Paris; if we had not 
known, from the experience of many preceding months, that 
there was behind us a party of anarchy which was waiting 
only for a moment of weakness on our part to take the direc- 
tion of affairs, the presence of MM. Milliere and Delescluze, 
and of their acolytes, at the Hotel de Ville, and the speeches 
they pronounced, would have made the situation perfectly 
clear." * 

IX 

THE emperor's RESPONSIBILITY 

The question of responsibility for the capitulations during 
the Franco-German War having been made the subject of an 
inquiry before a military council, the Emperor was found to 
be entirely responsible for the catastrophe at Sedan — either 
in consequence of political prejudice, or from a more laudable 
desire to protect certain military reputations that would have 
been compromised by any other conclusion. 

Immediately the report of this Council was published, the 
Emperor addressed the following letter to each of the generals 
present at the capitulation : 

" General : 

" I am responsible to the country, and I can accept no judg- 
ment save that of the nation regularly consulted. Nor is it for 
me to pass an opinion with respect to the report of the Commis- 
sion on the capitulation of Sedan. I shall only remind the 
principal witnesses of that catastrophe of the critical position 
in which we found ourselves. The army, commanded by the 
Duke of Magenta, did its duty nobly, and fought heroically 
against an enemy of twice its numbers. When driven back to 

* Deposition de M. Jules Ferry. " Enquete Parlementaire," tome i, 
p. 382. 



APPENDICES 521 

the walls of the town, and into the town itself, fourteen thou- 
sand dead and wounded covered the field of battle, and I saw 
that to contest the position any longer would be an act of des- 
peration. The honor of the army having been saved by the 
bravery which had been shown, I then exercised my sovereign 
right and gave orders to hoist a flag of ti'uce. I claim the entire 
responsibility of that act. The immolation of sixty thousand 
men could not have saved France, and the sublime devotion 
of her chiefs and soldiers would have been uselessly sacrificed. 
We obeyed a cruel but inexorable necessity. My heart was 
broken, but my conscience was tranquil. 

" Napoleon. 
"Camden Place, May 12, 1872.'! 



(1) 



VIVID, MOVING, SYMPATHETIC HUMOROUS- 



A Diary from Dixie. 

By Mary Boykin Chesnut. Being her Diary from 
November, 1861, to August, 1865. Edited by Isabella D. 
Martin and Myrta Lockett Avary. Illustrated. 8vo. Orna- 
mental Cloth, $2.50 net; postage additional. 

Mrs. Chesnut was the most brilliant woman that the South 
has ever produced, and the charm of her writing is such as to 
make all Southerners proud and all Northerners envious. She was 
the wife of James Chesnut, Jr., who was United States Senator 
from South CaroHna from 1859 to 1861, and acted as an aid to 
President Jefferson Davis, and was subsequently a Brigadier-Gen- 
eral in the Confederate Army. Thus it was that she was intimately 
acquainted with all the foremost men in the Southern cause. 

" In this diary is preserved the most moving and vivid record of the South- 
ern Confederacy of which we have any knowledge. It is a piece of social 
history of inestimable value. It interprets to posterity the spirit in which the 
Southerners entered upon and struggled through the war tliat ruined them. 
It paints poignantly but with simplicity the wreck of that old world which had 
so much about it that was beautiful and noble as well as evil. Students of 
American life have often smiled, and with reason, at the stilted and extrava- 
gant fashion in which the Southern woman had been described south of Mason 
and Dixon's line — the unconscious self-revelations of Mary Chesnut explain, 
if they do not justify, such extravagance. For here, we cannot but believe, 
is a creature of a fine type, a ' very woman,' a very Beatrice, frank, impetuous, 
loving, full of sympathy, full of humor. Like her prototype, she had preju- 
dices, and she knew little of the Northern people she criticised so severely ; 
but there is less bitterness in these pages than we might have expected. Per- 
haps the editors have seen to that. However this may be they have done 
nothing to injure the writer's own nervous, unconventional style— a style 
breathing character and temperament as the flower breathes fragrance." 

— New York Tribune. 

"It is written straight from the heart, and with a natural grace of style 
that no amount of polishing could have imparted." — Chicago Record-Herald. 

"The editors are to be congratulated ; it is not every day that one comes 
on such material as this long-hidden diary." — Louisville Evening Post. 

" It is a book that would have delighted Charles Lamb." 

— Houston Chronicle. 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. 



^"^A 



r 



AN AMERICAN ADMIRAL. 



Forty-five Years Under the Flag. 

By WiNFiELD Scott Schley, Rear- Admiral, U. S. N. 
Illustrated. 8vo. Cloth, uncut edges, and gilt top, $3.00 net. 

About one-third of Admiral Schley's volume is devoted to the Spanish 
War, in which he became so great a figure. He tells his own story in 
simple and effective words. His recollections are constantly reinforced 
by references to dispatches and other documents. 

Readers will be surprised at the extent of Admiral Schley's experi- 
ences. He left the Naval Academy just before the outbreak of the Civil 
War and saw service with Farragut in the Gulf. Three chapters are 
devoted to Civil War events. His next important service was rendered 
during the opening of Corea to the commerce of the world, and the 
chapter in which he describes the storming of the forts is one of thrilling 
interest. Another important expedition in his life was the rescue of 
Greely, to which three chapters are devoted. Two other chapters per- 
tain to the Revolution in Chili, and the troubles growing out of the 
attack upon some of Admiral Schley's men in the streets of Valparaiso. 

Altogether the book contains thirty-eight chapters. It has been illus- 
trated from material furnished by Admiral Schley and through his sug- 
gestions, and makes an octavo volume of large size. It will appeal to 
every true-hearted American. 

The author says in his preface : " In times of danger and duty the writer 
endeavored to do the work set before him without fear of consequences. With 
this thought in mind, he has felt moved, as a duty to his wife, his children, 
and his name, to leave a record of his long professional life, which has not 
been without some prestige, at least for the flag he has loved and under which 
he has served the best years of his life.'' 

"Rear-Admiral W. S. Schley's 'Forty-five Years Under the Flag' is the 
most valuable contribution to the history of the American Navy that has been 
written in many a year." — New York limes. 

" The author's career is well worthy of a book, and he has every reason for 
pride in telHng of his forty-five active years in all parts of the world." 

— Edwin L. Slnmian in the Chicago Record-Herald. 

" It is a stirring story, told with the simple directness of a sailor. Its read- 
ing carries the conviction of its truthfulness. The Admiral could not have 
hoped to accomplish more." — Chicago Evetiing Post. 

" He has told his own story, in his own way, from his own viewpoint, and 
goes after his detractors, open and above board, with his big guns." 

— Washington Post. 

" It is a work that will interest everyone, from the sixteen-year-old school- 
boy who is studying history and loves tales of stirring adventure to the grand- 
sire whose blood still pulses hotly with patriotic pride at the recounting of 
vahant deeds of arms under our starry Hag." — Boston American. 

"The Admiral tells the story well His is a manly and straightforward 
style. He leaves nothing to doubt, nothing open to controversy." 

— Baltimore Sun. 

D. APPLETON AND CO PI PA NY, NEW YORK. 



..^^ ^. 






^- .-.^ 



<:> 



<>- V 













y. 






.■^' 



% S*^ 
^^^^' '^-n 



-0^ 









o 0' 



5 N ■■ ^\ 



2 



c^. 



ci-. 



.■^■ 











.A^" 









•^^ 



0C> 



(;t* '« ten c> ■< 
'^, ^ O , V ^ A^ 














"bo^ 




.x^^ -^^^ 




o. 



•^ 



^. ,-0^' 




0' 












.^^ -^^^ 



ct-. 



• > J' \- O 

A- ^ .V. ■ 



<' ''/ »^ s^ .A V' <". ,\ 



^ » i, N \ 






V * ■• " " / '' , ' '/^ C' V 

.0 < ^' 



'^^■^" ■'^.,;^' ^'J^ 



^■j-, -* 



aV 






